Trump at NATO summit: 'Germany is totally controlled by Russia'

CNBC ^ | July 11, 2018 | Sam Meredith, Natasha Turak

[CondoleezzaProtege]

“Germany is totally controlled by Russia … They will be getting between 60 and 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline, and you tell me if that is appropriate because I think its not,” Trump said.

The U.S. president was speaking at a press conference in front of NATO representatives ahead of a two-day summit.

The Trump administration’s policies indicate it views security and trade as intimately linked. And when it comes to the trade balance, no ally will be spared.

Speaking in Brussels, Belgium on the first leg of his European trip, the U.S. president said a flurry of oil and gas deals had given Moscow far too much influence over the continent’s largest economy.

In particular, he singled out the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project as being especially "inappropriate."

“I think it is a very bad thing for NATO and I don’t think it should have happened and I think we have to talk to Germany about it. On top of that, Germany is just paying a little bit over 1 percent (on defense) … And I think that is inappropriate also,” he added. 'An attack on Germany and Russia'

Trump has long criticized Berlin and other NATO allies for “freeriding” on Washington’s defense capabilities. Currently only five of NATO’s 29 member states actually allocate the 2 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to military spending that they are formally committed to as part of the alliance. Those five are the U.S., the U.K., Greece, Estonia and Poland.

[SaveFerris]

Which is why NATO needs to listen.

Good post.

[RinaseaofDs]

When did France join NATO? I must have missed that somewhere.

[SaveFerris]

Wasn’t France part of NATO bombing Libya under Frau(d) Obama?

Maybe I’m incorrect.....

[dfwgator]

France joined NATO on the condition that we allowed France to keep her Indochina colonies.

Big mistake that was.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Crimean history goes back further than that and is more complex. One need not be a fan of Ukraine’s government to have an alternative point of view to the post-Soviet Russian one touted by Putin and ilk.

And for all the physical infrastructure and influx of mainland Russians that have moved in to cement the annexation, the spiritual and moral infrastructure is in tatters. A lot of Christians (Greek Catholics, Catholic nuns, Ukrainian Orthodox) and Crimean Tatars who have deep, ancestral ties have had to flee persecution and the onslaught of corruptions fostered by the Moscow Patriarchate wing of Russian Orthodox Church.

The newly built infrastructure comes with strings attached: namely the Kremlin’s authoritarian dictates and assaults on free speech, business ownership, education, and even freedom of movement. (Ukrainian citizenship and visa status offers more mobility for travel and work in surrounding European countries.)

Crimean Russians were singing Soviet anthems and waving Stalin portraits in the days following the annexation and still do. This was about Soviet nostalgia, not genuine Russian brotherhood. In his justification speech, Putin practically recited parts of Hitler’s Sudetanland anschluss speech verbatim.

The timing, spirit, and way it was done is what has upset peoppe most, including Ukrainians who formerly identified more closely with Russia.

As messy as Kiev’s government is, Crimeans had more freedom under Ukraine than Russia. But for many Russians, the ache for Soviet power outweighs the hunger for freedom.

[billakay]

Is Russia part of Europe? If so then yes, because Crimea is part of Russia :)

In all seriousness, if that was an invasion, it was the most welcome, noncontested invasion in history. They basically threw a gigantic party...

[billakay]

I think the western side can probably keep Kiev. The problem for them will be that the vast majority of the historical industrial capacity is in the east.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

They basically threw a gigantic party...

Of Crimean Russians singing Soviet anthems, waving Sickle and Hammer flags, and carrying Stalin portraits. 2014 annexation was Soviet nostalgia on steroids.

[dfwgator]

Of course back then it just went from the Russian SSR to the Ukrainian SSR, Moscow was still in charge.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

And Austrians welcomed Hitler's anschluss of their land too. It was a party.

They basically threw a gigantic party...

Crimean Russians singing Soviet anthems, waving Sickle and Hammer flags, and carrying Stalin portraits. 2014 annexation was Soviet nostalgia on steroids.

[Covenantor]

Here is the official White House transcript of:

Remarks by President Trump and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at Bilateral Breakfast FOREIGN POLICY Issued on: July 11, 2018

President Trumps Comments July 11, 2018

here's the shot across the bow for all to hear:

"....So we’re going to have to do something because we’re not going to put up with it. We can’t put up with it. And it’s inappropriate

Secretary General Stoltenberg tried to slide over that end of that remark with blah, blah, blah yes, but. IMO, they walked out of that meeting with brown racing stripes on their trousers.

[Grampa Dave]

US ALPHA Team arrives at Nato meeting....!!!

This morning in Europe!

As the NATO summit began in Brussels, President Trump delivered a clear message to America’s allies: The transatlantic Alliance is too important not to invest in. “The United States is paying far too much, and other countries are not paying enough,” the President said this morning.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg echoed that goal. “We will continue to focus on defense spending, because as the President just said, NATO Allies have to invest more in defense, and that’s not exactly what they’re doing,” he said. President Trump thanked the Secretary General for working hard to make progress. “He understands the problem.”

While former President Obama also urged our NATO allies to share the defense burden, President Trump is the one getting results. Since President Trump took office, each member state has increased its defense spending: In 2017 alone, we saw an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending among our NATO Allies. “But that’s not nearly enough,” President Trump makes clear.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600daily/

[HollyB]

Why is social media freaking out about what he said. Was this the exchange while they were at dinner and he discussed Germany buying oil from Russia? He was right tho and explained it in layman’s terms.

What is the issue?

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Crimeans in Sevastopol cheering Putin's annexation speech 2014.

[Sam Gamgee]

Yes, and Germany has huge financial interests in Iran. Not the saint of a nation they like to think they are.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for the feedback.

BOL: Secretary General Stoltenberg tried to slide over that end of that remark with blah, blah, blah yes, but. IMO, they walked out of that meeting with brown racing stripes on their trousers, and a stunned/glassy eyed look on their Eurotrash faces.

[T-Bone Texan]

Thank you all for the background.

I am not a cheerleader for either side, but must note that Ukraine is a very corrupt country.

They’re technically white people, but they tolerate governance on a par with subSaharan Africa.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

More Soviet-nostalgic Crimean Russians. Holding Stalin portrait in Simferopol's Lenin Square.

[hardspunned]

I understand that the Soviet Union (NATO’s only reason for existence) is gone. NATO is an obsolete American money pit and should be dismantled. If the Europeans care to discuss an alternative by all means do so, with funding paid up front.

[bert]

Iran does not dare to attack the USA and NATO is the reason. Iran can never mount a direct attack on us but we can sure mount an attack on Iran from NATO bases