Why Trump slammed Germany for gas pipeline deal with Russia
President Trump publicly criticized Germany over its Baltic Sea gas pipeline deal with Russia, calling the wealthiest nation in the European Union “a captive to Russia.”
"I have to say, I think it's very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia, where you're supposed to be guarding against Russia, and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia," Trump said on Wednesday during a meeting with the NATO secretary-general.
Germany, one of America's closest allies, is doubling its energy imports from Russia’s Gazprom just as the U.S. continues to spend billions of dollars to protect Germany and the rest of Europe from Russia.
“[Vladimir] Putin has tried to create other alternative pipelines that would essentially tie up eastern European countries, make them dependent on Russia, just the way he did [with] Ukraine when he shut off their fuel in the middle of a cold winter,” Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield (Ret.) told FOX Business’ David Asman.
Bloomfield says the pipeline deal allows Russia to avoid Ukraine and shut them off without affecting the rest of the flow to Europe, putting Ukraine at a disadvantage.
“[Russia is] trying to sneak offshore, go through the Baltic Sea, come on shore in Germany, not get caught bribing governments or the EU to get the pipeline over land,” he said.
The former Reagan national security official says the terms of the Baltic Sea gas pipeline deal must be closely monitored.
“We need to look at the history of Putin, whether he’s been a reliable energy supplier or whether he’s used energy for geopolitical pressure, which he has,” Bloomfield said.