Polish PM slams Merkel for energy agreements with Russia, draws comparison to Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

On 17 September, the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, criticized former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the agreements on energy supplies from Russia, comparing the deal with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, according to PAP.

The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union with a secret protocol that partitioned Central and Eastern Europe between them.

Morawiecki commented on “the gas and raw materials policy pursued by Germany” during the ceremony marking the 84th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s attack on Poland.

The Polish Prime Minister said 17 September 1939 (when World War II began) was a reminder of the “ominous consequences of the Russian-German alliance.”

“We also remind ourselves of the current danger of the German-Russian alliance. It is this alliance that led to the possibility of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, primarily because of the nightmarish gas and raw materials policy pursued by Germany,” Morawiecki said. “Just as there was a Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which we know very well, there was a de facto Merkel-Putin gas and raw materials pact. And this pact led to the dependence of a large part of Europe and a catastrophe, including in Poland,” the Polish Prime Minister added.

Morawiecki also stated that the Polish government is preparing a report on the damage caused by the Soviet occupation of Poland to seek compensation from the Russian authorities in the future.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel did her best to allow Russia to build the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite the US sanctions against the companies that were related to the construction of the pipeline.

The Nord Stream 2 is a 1,234-kilometre-long natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed by Gazprom and several European energy companies. The pipeline’s construction should have allowed Russia to transport gas to Europe without using the Ukrainian pipeline. The construction of the Nord Stream 2 has become the epitome of European dependence on Russian gas.

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