Angela Merkel defends ties with Russia and blocking Ukraine from Nato

BBC ^ | Nov 25, 2024 | Katya Adler

[McGruff]

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told the BBC the gas deals she made with Russia were intended to help German firms and kept the peace with Moscow.

She also insisted the war with Ukraine would have started earlier if she hadn’t blocked Kyiv’s entry into Nato in 2008.

"We would have seen military conflict even earlier. It was completely clear to me that President Putin would not have stood idly by and watched Ukraine join Nato.

In a rare interview since she stepped down from politics three years ago, Mrs Merkel expresses concern about Vladimir Putin’s renewed threats of using nuclear weapons.

[lavaroise]

Merkel, Biden, Burisma and the Nordstream $$ and ideogical connection...

They invited Russia in Ukraine like for Afghanistan and then are scrambling around to turn ship around somehow, washing hands Ponce Pilates style.

[Dave911]

Ukraine shouldn’t be in NATO.

[pepsionice]

Lets be honest here....these cheap Russian natural gas deals....were done in the 1970s...30 years prior to Merkel arriving.

Merkel simply added taxes here and there...to capture corners of the profitability of the German companies in this advantage.

[riverrunner]

Merkel is a hard core socialist.

She did a good job trying to destroy Germany

I have no time for what ever she has to say.

[Krosan]

Merkel built Nord Stream 2.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

It's no surprise that Norway was a collaborator in the Nordstream bombings. According to the Hersh article, US navy divers planted the explosives and fuzes on the two pipelines and a few days later, Norwegian naval planes remotely detonated the explosives.

Europe's messy Russian gas divorce
"Germany has largely swapped dependence on Russia for dependence on Norway for its pipeline gas supply. In December 2023, SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe) signed a new $55 billion long-term contract with the Norwegian producer Equinor."

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/europes-messy-russian-gas-divorce/

[pepsionice]

Gazprom built Nord Stream...anticipating more natural gas usage/profits. If the war hadn’t come along...their profits would be there now, and the German recession would have been avoided. They all guessed wrong.

[SmokingJoe]

Norway has been making a bundle from oil for ages, while at the same time buying more EV’s by percentage {over 90%} than any country on the planet, with Tesla being the number 1 seller.
Meanwhile Norway as a “sovereign Fund” worth a massive $1.75 Trillion with most of that coming from oil income.
On a population of only 5.5 million.
Norway is riding high.
Time for America to exploit the massive oil deposits in ANWR, tax it and use them taxes to pay down the $36 Trillion debt.

[SmokingJoe]

That’s obvious to anyone with any sense.

[SmokingJoe]

The German economy is in deep trouble right now. VW for example, has been laying off workers in their factories. German economy is heavily dependent on the auto industry, more than any other country in Europe.

[Krosan]

Germany’s fault is that Merkel closed down their nuclear power stations. Nord Stream 2 was Russia preparing to invade Ukraine and build a gas pipeline bypassing it.

[Tom Tetroxide]

The Ukraine isn’t in NATO.

[phil00071]

I’m surprised the biased BBC would report that the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO was a bad idea and may have caused the war. Up to now, the BBC and most of the UK media have blamed only Putin for the war.

[bert]

Like Hillary, Angela was

[bigfootbob]

He didn’t say that Ukraine was in NATO, just the opposite. Take another look at what he posted. I read things too fast sometimes and interpret the statement opposite of what it’s intended to say.

[ifinnegan]

Putin’s girlfriend.

East German Russiaphile. Loves Putin, always has.

[ansel12]

Reread it, the BBC reported no such thing, those were the words of the pro-Russia socialist Merkel.

[Thommas]

Former East German toadie, Ex Soviet mole, and Chancellor Angela Merkel..

[BlackbirdSST]

Reread it, the BBC reported no such thing, those were the words of the pro-Russia socialist Merkel.

Have you had your coffee yet? The BBC REPORTED what Merkle said. More coffee might leave you less confused. Maybe.