German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated the need to maintain the transit of Russian gas through the main pipeline Nord Stream 2 after the completion of its construction and commissioning.

"We want gas transit through Ukraine to remain. And in the future, Ukraine will remain a gas transit country for us, even if the construction of Nord Stream 2 is completed. There are great concerns on the Ukrainian side. We take them seriously." "We will discuss this topic. It will have a meaning and a role during my visit to the United States, because the United States also considers this issue to be essential," Merkel said at a joint briefing with Zelensky in Germany.