Germany admits dependence on Russia after mocking Trump’s warning
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump stood in front of the United Nations General Assembly and issued a stark warning to Europe.
“Reliance on a single foreign supplier can leave nations vulnerable to extortion and intimidation and that is why we congratulate European states such as Poland for leading construction of a Baltic pipeline so that nations are not dependent on Russia to meet their energy needs,” Trump told the UN General Assembly.
But to Germany, who insisted on building the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline with Russia, Trump issued a franker warning.
“Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course,” said Trump.
A video clip which went viral shows the German delegation snickering at Trump after he made the statement.
This was not the only time Trump warned Germany about depending on Russia for energy.
“It is a tragedy,” President Trump said about the pipeline after meeting with European leaders in 2018. “I think it is a horrific thing that’s being done when you’re feeding billions and billions of dollars from Germany primarily… into the coffers of Russia."
“I think it’s a horrible thing that Germany’s doing,” he said. “It’s a horrible mistake. How can you be working for peace and working from strength when somebody has that kind of power over you. You’ve given up all of your strength. I think it’s very bad for Germany. It’s very bad for the German people. And I don’t think it’s very good for NATO, if you want to know the truth.”
But then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel also scoffed at Trump.
“I’ve experienced myself a part of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union, and I’m very happy today that we are united in freedom,” she said at the time.
But now, as pressure mounts for Europe to sanction Russia and place an embargo on Russian oil, Europe’s largest economy has admitted that it is too dependent on Russia to impose any real sanctions.
Today, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement that oil and gas imports from Russia are of “essential importance”.
“It’s therefore a conscious decision on our part to continue the activities of business enterprises in the area of energy supply with Russia,” said Scholz.
“EU’s energy needs cannot be secured without Russia & its imports. Germany has no plans to suspend them,” he added.
Germany relies on Russia for more than a third of its oil and over half of its coal and gas.
President Joe Biden has also refused to shut down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Biden instead opted to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline shared with Canada on day one of his presidency.
