Posted on 01/09/2019 12:19:01 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is running into some trouble amid withering opposition from the Trump administration.
As it stands, Russia still needs to ship large volumes of gas to Europe via Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 would allow Russian gas to bypass Ukraine, giving Russia more leverage to meddle in Ukraine while still reliably delivering gas to Europe.
Merkel has been supportive of the project, not least because several major western European companies have stakes in the pipeline, including Royal Dutch Shell, as well as major German companies Wintershall and BASF. Last year, Merkel, under intense pressure from the Trump administration and some countries in Eastern Europe, acknowledged that the Nord Stream 2 had geopolitical ramifications and suggested that the project could face roadblocks if the end result was harm to Ukraine. Still, she seemed to want to push the project forward.
However, those efforts are starting to run into trouble. The recent seizure of Ukrainian sailors by Russia is starting to increase unrest within Merkel’s coalition...A growing block of German politicians view the project is a geopolitical liability.
The Trump administration has aggressively opposed the project for quite some time. “There is not only Russian gas coming through the pipeline, but also Russian influence,” Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “Now is not the time to reward Moscow.”
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
Ping!
The pipe is almost done. Facts on the ground and all that.
It is very hard for me to believe that Putin and Russia are the modern day equivalent of the former Soviet Union.
I don't see the political and cultural will that is necessary for Russia to be an aggressive, expansionist, great power.
Bottom Line...
Putin needs a warm water port - thus, the Crimea and Ukraine issue.
Second, he has many potentially dangerous neighbors - Erdogan in Turkey, Iran, various Islamic groups, a currently neutral India, China (which dreams of a new empire), and a nuclear armed psychopath in North Korea.
To my eye, Putin is much more pragmatic than dangerous.
It doesn’t have to be danger to Cold War levels for the pipeline to ultimately not be in our/Poland’s/allies’ interests...
His job is to keep Mother Russia from dieing.
The sovereignty of individual European countries is already compromised as is. This pipeline is a globalist pursuit of the likes of former ex-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (who sits on the board of Rosneft Russian state oil company) plus Putin and his corrupt cohort of oligarch cronies.
No good. They should not have so much leverage — economic or otherwise — of countries like Poland, Estonia, or any of our major Western NATO partners. period.
Because of tight shale fracking, America has huge natural gas reserves in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania and New York.
Because there is a limited market for natural gas in the northeast states, we are actually liquefying and shipping much of it to Europe.
In other words, we are competing against Russian gas.
Now, I am definitely “America First” when it comes to our business interests.
But, when Trump and the neo-Cons try to convince me that Russia's pipeline is a strategic issue, I am very skeptical.
i agree.
As I already stated Nord Stream 2 is the GLOBALIST endeavor led by the likes of ex-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Putin's crony oligarchs.
An America First policy in Europe actually BENEFITS the individual sovereignty of countries like Poland, Hungary, and elsewhere to rid themselves of dependence from neocon Russia.
Let's dispense with the double-standard on the Neo-Con label shall we? It's Mr. Putin who can be found empire building everywhere from Venezuela to the Central African Republic as we speak. The Kremlin and Russia's elites benefit from the globalist NWO world order. Hence Russia's support not only for projects like NordStream 2, but the Iran Nuclear Deal and Paris Climate Agreement.
I again agree.
Putin and Russis can be more help than hinerance.
Give them their port and stop competing with them with oil.
The LIE that Putin and his crony oligarchs are somehow assisting us in any way in challenging the NWO globalist status quo needs to stop here now. Whether its Russian support for NordStream 2, Paris Climate, or Iran Nuke Deal...Whether it’s their presence in Venezuela, Libya, or Africa...
Like China, the Russian establishment BENEFITS. And the individual sovereignty of European countries such as Poland, Hungary, our other NATO allies plus U.S. national self-interest lose out.
Putin’s primary concern is not his people, but the bank accounts and estates of his kleptocrats. The holdings of which happen to be stored in Western countries.
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