Not in Poland’s Interest to Give Germany Nord Stream Suspect, Tusk Says

WARSAW, Oct 7 (Reuters) – It is not in Poland’s interest to hand over a Ukrainian man wanted by Germany for suspected involvement in explosions which damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the Polish prime minister said on Tuesday.

Donald Tusk said that ultimately it was for the court to decide whether Volodymyr Z., who was detained near Warsaw in late September, is handed over. But he reiterated Poland’s long-standing opposition to the pipelines, which Warsaw says were key to making Europe too dependent on Russian energy.

“The problem of Europe, the problem of Ukraine, the problem of Lithuania and Poland is not that Nord Stream 2 was blown up, but that it was built,” Tusk told a news conference.

“It is certainly not in the interest of Poland… to hand over this citizen to a foreign country,” he added.

German authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Polish court ruled on Monday that Volodymyr Z. must remain in custody for another 40 days while a decision is made on whether to transfer him to Germany based on a European arrest warrant.

Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the explosions in 2022 marked an escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezed energy supplies. No one has taken responsibility for the blasts and Ukraine has denied any role.

Another Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the attacks was arrested in Italy in August and plans to fight extradition to Germany.

Volodymyr Z’s Polish lawyer has said his client has done nothing wrong and that he will plead not guilty.

Germany’s top prosecutors’ office said in an earlier statement that the diver was one of a group of people who were suspected of renting a sailing yacht and planting explosives on the pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany, near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022.

He faces accusations of conspiring to commit an explosives attack and of “anti-constitutional sabotage”, the German prosecutors added.

Reporting by Alan Charlish, Barbara Erling, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw, Sarah Marsh in Berlin Editing by Gareth Jones

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