Geert Wilders, the far-right leader whose Party for Freedom (PVV) heads the new Dutch government, has submitted three questions to Parliament raising the possibility of reviewing aid to kyiv if it is confirmed that it was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022. An investigation by the newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published on Thursday indicates that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aware of the plan and agreed to its implementation. Wilders softened his position against supporting Ukraine to close the government pact in July, but his reticence remains one of the points of friction in the current right-wing coalition.
Nord Stream is the network of pipelines that runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany to supply natural gas to Western Europe. The service generates billions for the Kremlin, and Wilders has asked Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and the ministers of defence and foreign affairs about the position the Netherlands should take if the sabotage was confirmed. “Are you prepared to reconsider that relationship?” [con Ucrania]”If not, why not?” he asks in his note to Parliament.
Last July, during the NATO summit in Washington, Schoof confirmed his government’s support for Ukraine. In his questions, however, Wilders asks for clarification on the alleged green light given by President Zelensky to sabotage. “And if it is true that he knew about it in advance, can you tell us what the consequences would be?” he concludes. WSJ The key role played in this matter by the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) is highlighted. According to the data handled by the reporters, the MIVD received reports on Ukraine twice in 2022. In both cases, it informed the CIA.
The first time was in June, three months before the attack, and it referred to sabotage. The CIA informed Germany and warned Zelensky to stop it. The second MIVD notification reached Germany again via the CIA, and included details of the attack. President Zelensky ordered it stopped, and the WSJ concludes that he failed to do so because it was too late to locate the Ukrainian saboteurs. The attack caused massive environmental damage and sent energy prices soaring, but it did not stop the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
If the investigations of the Wall Street Journal are correct, the last government of the liberal Mark Rutte – now Secretary General of NATO – must have been aware of the Ukrainian role in the attack on Nord Stream. There were no changes in the aid provided to kyiv and Rutte remained silent. Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the New Social Contract, one of the four parties in the Dutch government coalition, has stressed this week his support for Ukraine. “But that does not mean that explanations can be given” for the sabotage of Nord Stream, he specified on the social network X.
Since the tragedy of flight MH17, shot down in 2014 over Ukraine by a Russian-made Buk missile, the Netherlands has been handling a lot of data on Ukraine through the MIVD. The plane left Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and its 298 occupants perished, including 196 Dutch nationals.
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