Once Upon a Time, John Kerry and Joe Biden Disapproved of Germany-Russia Pipeline

Once Upon a Time, John Kerry and Joe Biden Disapproved of Germany-Russia Pipeline

The left and Resistance lost their minds when President Donald Trump had the nerve to say that because of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline “Germany is captive of Russia “.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry lashed out at Trump for his “disgraceful” comments.

Weird…only two years ago, Kerry expressed concern over this exact same pipeline as he sat with high-level European Union officials! Former Vice President Joe Biden made similar remarks around the same time.

Kerry, Biden Remarks

Secretary Kerry underscores U.S. view that Nord Stream II would have adverse impact in Europe pic.twitter.com/JA9ElOnMX9

— EnergyAtState (@EnergyAtState) May 4, 2016

On May 4, 2016, as he sat with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Kerry said (emphasis mine):

We’ve helped Ukraine reduce its dependency on Russia for gas. And for the first time this past winter, Ukraine received more natural gas from Europe than from Russia, which shows what can happen when you put a strategy in place. In the past month, the United States exported our first LNG cargoes around the world, including to Europe, and I just got notice the other day from Amos Hochstein that one of them, I think, has made port. And so this is now a big step forward.

—

In our meetings today, we’re going to take stock on the progress that we’re making. We’re going to try to focus on what’s next. We want to have an unstilted, open kind of dialogue, and try to not just move forward with the implementation of the Paris agreement, but expand the use of clean energy worldwide and thereby bolster energy independence in the EU, as well as find new ways to assist Ukraine. And we’re also going to discuss one other specific issue of deep concern to me and to everybody here, and I think that’s the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This project has provoked a very heated debate on both sides of the Atlantic, and we are convinced would absolutely have an adverse impact on Ukraine, on Slovakia, and Eastern Europe. And we cannot lose sight of that.

While visiting Sweden and Latvia, Biden criticized the Russian pipeline:

“Speaking for ourselves, speaking for the United States, Nord Stream 2 pipeline, we think, is a fundamentally bad deal for Europe,” he said. “From our perspective, it looks like a fairly bad deal … Europe needs diverse sources of gas, not, in our view, a new Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and to lock in greater reliance on Russia at this moment … I know will fundamentally destabilize Ukraine.”

In Latvia a day earlier, Biden said Russian gas should be part of the European market but added that market needed to be competitive, saying Europe didn’t need “new pipelines that lock in greater reliance on Russia.”

“For the first time, gas from the United States is being used here in Europe,” he said. “And every country in Europe can now buy that American resource. That’s critical, because Europe needs diverse sources of gas, not new pipelines that lock in greater reliance on Russia. Russian gas can and should be part of the European market, but that market needs to be open and competitive.”

Others Warned About the Pipeline and Russian Energy

ME. When I worked on the Ukraine beat at Breitbart, I always doubted the EU and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s commitment to Ukraine because of the energy pipelines.

I wrote this article in 2014 when Russian President Vladimir Putin held Europe’s gas hostage unless they helped Ukraine pay off its debt.

The Slovakian energy minister said the pipeline presents a danger to everyone in Europe:

In March 2014, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) described Russia as “a gas station masquerading as a country.”

Andrey Kobelev, the head of Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz, said the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a “Trojan Horse.” The country of Lithuania insisted the pipeline is a “geopolitical threat.”

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty reported in March 2018 that opposition to the Nord Stream 2 has continued to grow in Eastern Europe:

Some of the most vocal critics are Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, whose foreign and defense ministers met with their U.S. counterparts in Washington in the past week.

The Nord Stream 2 project will bring Russian gas directly to Western Europe, but critics say it will increase dependence on Russia and enrich its state-owned energy firms at a time when Moscow stands accused of endangering European security.

—

Many Eastern European states say Europe should not be engaged in big business with Putin.

“Security these days is increasingly indivisible. There’s no clear division between internal and external security and also geographically,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser.

Noah Gordon of the Center for European Reform explained that the pipeline could expose those countries “to a Russian political gas cutoff.” You know, like I reported back in 2014. Ask Ukraine how nice it was to rely on Russia for energy. Thank God they don’t have to do that anymore.

Earlier this year, Ukraine voiced more objections to Nord Stream 2 as it would make their pipelines vulnerable. Ian Bremmer, founder of Eurasia Group, wrote that Ukraine is “desperately concerned about the Nord Stream 2 project, as it would remove the logic of Russia steering clear of attacking their gas pipeline.”

I’ll leave you with this mic drop from Bremmer: “Germany’s not impressed by those concerns, and economic interests lead the way.”

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