'Not in Poland's interest,' to hand over Ukrainian in Nord Stream probe, Tusk says
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Oct. 7 said those who built Nord Stream 2, not those accused of sabotaging it, "should be ashamed and remain silent," adding it is "not in Poland's interest" to hand over the suspect.
Tusk's comments come amid renewed debate over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Poland's handling of a German extradition request for a Ukrainian citizen accused of involvement in the 2022 explosion of the pipeline. The suspect, identified as Volodymyr Z., was detained in September in east-central Poland.
"This is not a new situation," Tusk said during a joint press conference in Warsaw with Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene. "From our point of view, the only people who should be ashamed and should remain silent on the issue of Nord Stream 2 are those who decided to build it."
Tusk added that he had presented Poland's position to former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Volodymyr Zelensky "many months ago."
"Our position has not changed. It is certainly not in Poland's interest to accuse or hand over this citizen to another country," Tusk said.
Tusk added that the construction of the pipeline, linking Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea, went "against the most vital interests of the whole of Europe."
"The decision will belong to the court," Tusk said, adding that the government will not interfere.
Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister-coordinator for intelligence services, said earlier that the case is "extremely serious" and that the court has up to 100 days to decide whether to extradite the suspect to Germany.
The German investigation alleges that Volodymyr Z., a diving instructor, helped place explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022. Another Ukrainian suspect was detained in Italy in August on similar charges.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which never became operational, was already a source of controversy before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with critics arguing it deepened Germany's reliance on Russian energy.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said earlier this year that the German government would "do everything" to prevent the start of Nord Stream 2.
Alisa Yurchenko
