Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said it is not in the country’s interest to extradite a Ukrainian man to Germany for his alleged involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions.
The Ukrainian suspect, Volodymyr Z, who is wanted in Germany in connection with the September 2022 blasts, was detained near Warsaw in late September.
A Polish court ruled on Monday that he must remain in custody for another 40 days while it considers Germany’s request to extradite him under a European arrest warrant.
Speaking on Tuesday, Tusk said it was ultimately the court’s decision to decide whether to hand over Volodymyr Z to Germany — and that the government would not interfere.
However, he once again stated Poland’s opposition to the pipelines, which it has long argued made 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 press conference.
“It is certainly not in the interest of Poland … to hand over this citizen to a foreign country,” he added