US Sanctions Are Wrong, Pretentious and Hypocritical

The punitive measures taken by the House of Representatives are directed at companies participating in the construction of the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. That is nothing more than implementation of the strategy “America First” being passed off as foreign policy.

It is a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, it may be reasonable for the German government to delay or suspend completion of the natural gas pipeline North Stream 2 that runs through the Baltic Sea. But at the same time, the sanctions recently imposed by the U.S. government on companies involved in the construction of this pipeline are wrong, pretentious and hypocritical.

Berlin initiated the pipeline project together with Moscow years ago. It faces resistance in parts of the EU, but especially in Ukraine and Poland, because these countries will lose expensive fees for conveying gas through “their” pipelines. On the other hand, a direct pipeline to Germany guarantees the natural gas supply from Russia, even if the almost antagonistic relationship between Kiev and Moscow would lead one or the other to shut off the gas supply through the land pipeline. A second gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea is in the interest of Germany, not Ukraine. And it is certainly in the interest of Russia.

And that is precisely what bothers the Americans who supposedly worry that Germany will become too dependent on Russian gas. This formulation signifies nothing more than that many in Washington do not want to allow Russia the profits that it would make with its natural gas, partly because America would rather sell its own gas to Europe and the Russians.

The sanctions recently approved by the House of Representatives against companies participating in the construction of the North Stream pipeline are an implementation of the strategy “America First” being passed off as foreign policy—a strategy that in this case is shared by most American Democrats. In essence, Washington wants to tell Germany from whom and how it should buy energy. And at the same time, it wants to prevent Russia from profiting from it.

The EU Must Find Ways To Coexist with Russia

It may be true that Moscow uses violence to conduct reprehensible, unscrupulous power politics not only by annexing the Crimea in a move that violates human rights, but also by stoking wars on its periphery. But this cannot mean that we break off relations and stop trading with them, thus relinquishing the possibility of influencing them. Russia is the biggest neighbor of the EU and, although it is an authoritarian state, we must find a way to coexist with it.

Yet when the Russian secret service obviously sends a hitman to Berlin to kill a person whom Russia’s president describes as a bandit, the German government needs to react. Recently, Vladimir Putin lied brashly and openly above the context of this “case;” that the U.S. president continually lies is unfortunately true, but does not make it any better.

Because of the Berlin murder, clear answers are needed if Moscow does not cooperate — including sanctions, if necessary. Thus arises the absurd situation in which Berlin, too, should reconsider freezing cooperation on the pipeline through the Baltic Sea, even if it would be necessary for very different reasons than those called upon in Washington. Berlin is truly in an unenviable position: the former friend in the West has been behaving again and again for the last few years as the neighbor to the East has been behaving for a while.