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Angela Merkel And Vladimir Putin In Petersburg Dialogue
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the Baltic state of Lithuania on Friday to meet the Lithuanian president and the three Baltic prime ministers to tell them she understood but didn’t care about their security concerns and that of the NATO alliance. She insisted the Nord Stream II pipeline ‘makes economic sense’ and will go forward. The laying of pipeline has already begun in the Baltic Sea.
Moscow And Merkel Quietly Start Building Nord Stream II To Increase German Dependence On Russian Gas
Germany spends a woefully inadequate amount on its own national defense, preferring to rely on the American taxpayer and their nuclear umbrella.
She also said sanctions will remain on Russia until there is progress in East Ukraine, per the Minsk agreements.
“Before the Minsk agreement has been implemented or progress has been made in that regard, we will not consider lifting the sanctions on Russia,” she said, reported The Baltic Times.
The chancellor admitted that meetings of the so-called Normandy Four, which consists of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, had not produced “as much progress as we would like”, but insisted that the goal of restoring peace and the territorial integrity of Ukraine remained in place.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite expressed her concerns to Merkel that the pipeline would increase Europe’s reliance on Russian energy and weaken NATO security, “We regard it as a geopolitical project rather than a commercial or energy one. Our attitude is based on our experience, which, unfortunately, isn’t very good. We know what it means to be dependent on the supply of energy from one source, that is, from Russia.”
She added another comment, tongue in cheek, regarding the issue, “We have confidence in Germany and the chancellor (and believe) that she will never betray the interests of Europe and will always honestly and persistently represent the interests of all peace-minded states, the EU and our interests.”
Merkel Spreads “Fake News” About Nord Stream II Pipeline – “Will Not Make Us Dependent On Russia”
U.S. President Trump has mocked Germany for spending a small amount for its own defense, while going ‘green’, destroying its own energy production industry, and importing most of its gas from Russia.
