Europe Wants to Banish Russian Gas. The U.S. May Have Other Plans.

NY Times ^ | June 5, 2025 | Anton Troianovski, Jeanna Smialek and Melissa Eddy

[McGruff]

In May, an American investor tried to sell top German economic officials on an audacious plan to buy a Russian undersea pipeline. Despite years of international friction over the pipeline, he proposed to eventually activate it and deliver natural gas to Germany.

The investor, Stephen P. Lynch, had already made the pitch to the Trump administration, which he was betting would want U.S. control over a pivotal piece of energy infrastructure. Now the Germans wanted to hear for themselves about Mr. Lynch’s proposal to lead a takeover of the much-criticized pipeline on the floor of the Baltic Sea, called Nord Stream 2.

The German officials were skeptical in their May 6 meeting in Berlin, Mr. Lynch recalls, asking him how he intended to persuade them to allow Russian gas to flow through the pipeline, which was partially sabotaged in 2022. That was not his job, Mr. Lynch says he answered, predicting that the Germans would persuade themselves eventually of the benefits of buying cheap Russian gas again.

[McGruff]

Full article here:

https://archive.ph/kHF9H#selection-4587.0-4603.167

[nathanbedford]

When President Trump meets with Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, at the White House on Thursday, Mr. Merz will reiterate his opposition to using Nord Stream 2 if the issue comes up,

And Mr. Trump will reiterate his opposition to Merz government and his support for AFD instead.

It will be remembered that in the course of the recent German national election campaign, the United States directly intervened in Germany's election to unequivocally support AFD, the party that wants to buy gas from Russia, and wants restored relations, including trade, with Russia and China but removal of American and America's nukes from Germany.

At this point Herr Merz will no doubt remind Mr. Trump of his oft repeated opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and particularly to Mr. Trump's speech at the United Nations vehemently opposing that pipeline.

This would be the appropriate moment (or maybe not) for Herr Merz to remind us all of the images of the German diplomats mocking Trump during that UN speech.

If anyone can make consistent policy on either side out of these exchanges, it would be refreshing to hear it.

My best supposition (repeat, supposition) is that Trump has long determined to accomplish a realignment with Russia. He is determined to accomplish that at the cost of Ukraine. His submission to Putin's demands for peace and his subsequent humiliation of Zelinski and statements traducing him as one who started the war, tend to confirm this supposition.

This supposition assumes the Trump is making a deal, with very little actual concern for the wasted lives in the war. The whole business about mining minerals also tends to confirm this supposition.

It assumes that these maneuvers are part of a realignment with the world, based on economic deals that free America of commitments in Europe to focus on China. The result, of course, is the alienation of Europe with half a billion people who practice democracy. It narrows America's national security posture to the Western Hemisphere and perhaps some Pacific rim nations. But Pacific rim nations can readily see what's going on in Washington concerning Europe and our commitment to Ukraine. They are perfectly capable of drawing their own conclusions.

Hence, the object of permitting America to focus resources on containing China could actually be undermined by the measures taken in Europe that had been designed to accomplish that purpose.

If we lose the Pacific rim nations, where one notes with concern the recent election in South Korea, our national security situation will be restricted to fortress America from Greenland to the Panama Canal. That would be a disaster.

[Redmen4ever]

If you will look at a map of oil and natural gas pipelines, you will see that - prior to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine - Europe was A-OK with buying lots and lots of oil and natural gas from Russia.

Our thinking was that economics would lead to politics. That Russia would come to see the profit in peace. Ditto China. We thought that China would come to see the profit in peace.

That’s NOT how Putin or Xi saw it.

They see the democracies as weak and willing to write-off Ukraine and Taiwan and other places in order to get oil and natural gas and cheap manufactured goods.

Putin thought Europe’s “addition” to Russian oil and natural gas would mean that the west would protest if he invaded Ukraine again, but not actually do anything.

In the mid 20th Century, that was what Hitler and Tojo thought. They thought we were decadent and didn’t have the stomach for war. They were wrong and Putin and Xi are wrong.

Unfortunately, prior administrations here and elsewhere in the democratic world didn’t communicate our resolve clearly enough.

[ifinnegan]

Exact opposite of truth.

EU states have purchased about a quarter trillion dollars worth of Russian gas and oil since it started.

[Redmen4ever]

Nathan, if we don’t have nukes in Germany, Germany will have nukes. Ditto Poland, Turkey, the Arab nations, South Korea, Japan and many other nations.

Pax Americana now rivals Pax Britannica in longevity. Neither period was completely peaceful. In particular, in both cases, the global hegemon got dragged into local wars. But, both periods were marked by strong growth in the economy and in freedom both within the hegemon and throughout much of the rest of the world.

Withdrawal to “Fortress America” would have consequences beyond us reducing the risk of us getting sucked into another local war.

[nathanbedford]

Agreed.

[Redmen4ever]

Not “exactly” the opposite. Yes, Europe continues to buy a lot of Russian fossil fuels. But, the amount is down.

1st year of invasion: $365 B
2nd year: $250 B
3rd year: $242 B

https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/eu-imports-of-russian-fossil-fuels-in-third-year-of-invasion-surpass-financial-aid-sent-to-ukraine/

Also: US and Saudi Arabia ramping up production, as well as transportation infrastructure, are part of our strategy.

Canada needs to do its part. First, get defense spending up to 2%; and, second, build the Transcontinental East Pipeline.

[Rockingham]

Under Putin, Russia aims to restore the equivalent of the Soviet Union as a sphere of Russian influence and control. If Germany wants to accommodate Putin, they ought to cut to the chase and just give Russia the east half of Germany to occupy and exploit as they did until 1989.

[Redmen4ever]

peace through strength, brother

[NorseViking]

Okay, I understand the logic of propaganda against Russia. What China did against peace?

[JayGalt]

I'm open to disagreement but I sum up differently.
Russia/Putin was intentially goaded into war by the CIA & Neocaons. They placed bioweapons labs on Russia's borders, played chicken by opening the door to Ukraine joining NATO, an act that had been proscribed. The left/neocaons had been demonizing Russia with "Russia, Russia" since 2015-16. The Crimea is predominately Russian speaking and the peopole in that region had voted to reintergrate with Russia.

The official result from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was a 97 percent vote for integration of the region into the Russian Federation, with an 83 percent voter turnout, and from Sevastopol there was also a 97 percent vote for integration with Russia, with an 89 percent voter turnout.

I think Putin is protecting Russia from what he sees as aggression. Ukraine is corrupt, and is being used as a pawn to bring about a change in the world order. While Russia is not a friend, it has been an ally in the past and I believe it could be again.

[rottweiller_inc]

I can see the European Politicians appealing to US Politicians: “ Good Sir, would you teach to to make winded speeches so that we may power our wind mills.”

[Chgogal]

Bookmark

[Pontiac]

The Crimea is predominately Russian speaking and the peopole in that region had voted to reintergrate with Russia.

I would add that Ukraine had passed laws outlawing the Russian language and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Ukraine government was doing everything it could to alienate the ethnic Russian people in Ukraine. As you say these actions were probably orchestrated by the CIA.

It should also be noted that the US/NATO had agreements with Russia after the fall of the USSR that Ukraine would never be part of NATO. We definitely reneged on that agreement.

The USA wanted this war, it's good for profits and it's good for careers.

Beware the military-industrial complex.

[JayGalt]

military-industrial complex = traitors to America, oath breakers

[Robert DeLong]

Oh, I don't know, but let's start with using slave labor & cheap wages to attract businesses to relocate to China, and then stealing, cheating, lying while appropriating the proprietary intellectual property in order to create competing industries to produce Chinese knockoffs of similar products of similar products as they abused their most favored nation status within the WTO, in their designed plan to hollow out the U.S. manufacturing powerhouse this nation had possessed. Do you honestly believe that was done by accident?

China has been waging a no-holds barred assault with the goal of becoming the world's superpower.

Xi & the CCP are the ones that absolutely would never play fairly, while I believe that Putin actually was willing to join the family of nations on a trading basis for peace, yet he got nothing but belligerence in return from the neocons who are fighting to retain the power & control they had before Trump came along to threaten that power & control..

[PIF]

Losing Europe and then the PacRim would be in keeping with the isolationist sentiment that prevails the current administration. But moreover, its about ending the war in Europe which is getting in the way of business and achieving the nomination if not outright winning the Nobel Peace prize - all else is fungible. No one cares if Russia attacks a NATO nation, since the US will have pulled out, and a Russian takeover of all of Europe would, in the Administration’s mindset, be good for business.

[NorseViking]

None of what you have said is about war and peace.

[Candor7]

US sub on the way with its added on deck mounted dry shelter dive unit.