Trump, partner of Russia? Ask the Germans

(Consortium Nord Stream AG's headquarters in Zug, Switzerland.)

          According to UK´s The Times, US government has warned German companies that they may be target of US economic sanctions. The cause is participation in Nord Stream 2 project, a 1.200 km gas pipeline accross the Baltic Sea that will double the natural gas import from Russia by Germany. Running alongside the existing Nord Stream, the country could receive up to 111 billions gas cubic meters per year, double its current capacity.

          The 9,4 billion euros project is run by Russia state-owned Gazprom and its promoted by the consortium Nord Stream AG, which has as Chairman of the Shareholders' Comittee German former prime-minister Gerhard Schöreder, Vladimir Putin´s personal friend. The consortium was created in 2005 with aim of constructing this gas pipeline.

          The warning of sanctions was given by the US embassador in Berlim who, according to the report, warned that "companies involved in Russian energy exports are taking part in something that could prompt a significant risk of sanctions", in addition of undermining the security of Ukraine and Europe. A new gas pipeline to Europe would allow Moscow cut off gas supply that passes through Ukraine, country in armed conflict with pro-Russian separatists. 

          In the words of an US official, the Washington´s warning is a "clear message of US policy".

(Nord Stream - in green - and Nord Stream 2 - in yellow dotted.)

          This agrees with what I commented in my last post: Trump administration isn't as close to Russia as it seems. Academic, political consultant and journalist Taras Kuzio, expert in Russian and Ukrainian politics, commented is his Twitter on January 14th that "US threatening German firms building gas pipe shows again that the Trump administration (despite its many idiosyncrasies) is a stronger ally of Ukraine than the EU".

        As expected, Poland and the Baltic States are very troubled with the Russian-German project. The latter consider Nord Stream 2 to be a political, not an economic, project which aims to increase Europe's dependence on Russian gas, and gives to Moscow capacity to politically influence the continent.

          Throughout 2019, however, Angela Merkel denfended the gas pipeline construction, whose position seems to have changed by the ende of the year due many criticism and pressure from supporters, opponents and Western allies. Trump has accused Merkel of being "captive" towards Russians.

          More than the White House's idiosyncrasies and alleged Trump's "collusion" with Russia, the threat to European security comes mainly from the energy dependence from Russia and the cooperation agreements the Kremlin has constructed with various political parties and activists in the continent.            

* Published in Portuguese on January 15th, 2019.