The Russian pipeline to Germany that Trump is so mad about
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moncler outlet jackets But on Wednesday morning, Trump took aim at the Germans for a very different reasons: a 800 mile long, planned pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea. The German government has moncler mens jackets been pursuing its Nord Stream 2 project for years, despite criticism from the United States and some Eastern European nations. criticism of the project on Wednesday, and doubled down by tying it to the future of NATO. “Germany, as far as I’m concerned, is captive to Russia because it’s getting so much of its energy from Russia,” Trump told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking on camera. “We have to talk about the billions and billions of dollars that’s being paid to the country we’re supposed to be protecting you against.” moncler outlet jackets
cheap moncler outlet Germany as a key market for Russia Germany is indeed Russia’s biggest export market in Europe for gas, with a dependency that may grow further once Nord Stream 2 is finished. The project would roughly double Russia’s export volume via the Baltic route, that currently goes through the original Nord Stream pipeline. cheap moncler outlet
cheap moncler jackets sale Over the next few decades, Europe’s own gas resources that accounted for about a third of its supplies in 2016 are expected to gradually disappear. (Britain, Norway and the Netherlands are currently the European Union’s biggest producers, primarily relying on natural gas fields in the North Sea.) cheap moncler jackets sale
moncler sale As Europe’s own supplies are running out, the United States is hoping to gain access to a profitable market with growing demand. economic interests only partially explain why the pipeline conflict is now emerging as a key point of contention. pressure on Russia helped to eventually solve the conflict, as powerful member states in Western Europe grew concerned that the supply disruption might have ripple effects across the continent. moncler sale
cheap moncler coats Ukraine and parts of eastern Europe fear that their partners to the west may be much less vocal next time ifthey do not rely on those same deliveries themselves. cheap moncler coats
moncler outlet German Chancellor Angela Merkel has not shown any willingness to halt the controversial pipeline project, moncler outlet online but at times she has indicated at least some skepticism, acknowledging that the project buy moncler jackets was not an entirely economic one but also of political significance. That already stood in strong contrast to her moncler sale outlet predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder of the Social Democrats, who long championed the gas connection. moncler outlet
moncler outlet store At the time, the German government said it was pursuing the offshore pipeline between Russia and Germany to cut energy costs and establisha reliable supply route. moncler outlet store
moncler outlet online A strange deal But in the years since, cheap moncler coats doubts have arisen whether the official arguments Moncler Outlet fully explain Berlin’s decision making process at the time. In 2005, Russian President Vladimir moncler outlet Putin’s friend Schroeder hastily signed the deal just as he was departing the office he had been voted out of cheap moncler jackets days earlier. Within weeks, he started to oversee the project implementation himself, leading the NordStream AG’s shareholder committee. moncler outlet online
cheap moncler jackets Schroeder went on cheap moncler outlet to become aboard member of several consortia in cheap moncler which Russian government controlled energy company Gazprom is at least the majority shareholder. Most recently, he became chairman of Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil company that is controlled by the Kremlin. cheap moncler jackets
moncler factory outlet The Cold War’s forgotten energy diplomacy Schroeder’s post chancellorship business dealings have long raised suspicions among Germans over his political https://www.beautylyrics.com legacy, but many are still willing to defend his now most controversial project. Nord Stream 2 always also reflected a willingness among many Germans on the left and right of the political spectrum to engage Russia, rather than to provoke it. The plans were drawn up at a time when Russia appeared eager to engage with the West and many Germans still see Russia more positively today than other countries do. The Germans’ hope on that front may also be based on their long moncler outlet sale dealings with the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War, when open hostility and more low key cooperation went hand in hand. moncler factory outlet
moncler outlet uk While gas supplies are now raising concerns over the risks they may pose to international security, they were actually seen as a way to prevent conflicts during the Cold War. “Long term energy diplomacy became a carefully built link which guaranteed cooperation even during political crises,”argued German historianFrank Bsch, who analyzed West German government records. “Natural gas pipelines implied mutual trust within a stable relationship, which led to further collaborations, including cooperation in nuclear power,” he explained. moncler outlet uk
moncler outlet sale Germany’s Cold War legacy may help explain why Berlin is so vehement on making itself more dependent on a nation that has moncler sale annexed foreign territories and cut off energy supplies in the past moncler outlet sale.