German Chancellor Angela Merkel's reaction to the U.S. possible sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is a "clear declaration of war" on U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Bild newspaper.
Previously, she noted that Germany was opposed to U.S. extraterritorial sanctions and will "hold very decisive talks" on the issue of U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream-2.
According to Bild, Merkel's response to the Congress decision on sanctions was "clear". It was "a clear declaration of war" on Trump. The Chancellor "will not tolerate" the United States "continuing to undermine the gas pipeline project, which enjoys her government’s support," the newspaper wrote.
At the same time, the publication voices confidence that nothing could undermine the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline at its current stage, and it will soon be successfully completed.
Director of Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Kuznetsov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Germany may resort to a variety of measures, since the United States under Donald Trump has begun to withdraw from almost all existed agreements. "There are two main possible areas. First, Germany may try to use the tools of international organizations, second, it can enter the war without trade rules and also try to limit American business, which is quite realistic," the expert said.
"Europeans may come up with antimonopoly measures, in fact unfair competition, Germany, as the largest country in the EU, is also capable of doing this. Most likely, it’s all being worked out by German economists, and it’s premature to talk about concrete measures. At the moment it’s rather a threat. But it can be put into practice," Alexey Kuznetsov stressed.
Director of the Institute of Strategic Planning and Forecasting, Professor Alexander Gusev, on the contrary, expressed opinion that Germany does not have many tools and methods in relation to the U.S. "Still, it must be borne in mind that many European countries are largely dependent on the United States. So Merkel’s words are just rhetoric. I believe that the United States will not put too much pressure on Germany, because Washington understands that Germany's development is impossible without raw materials. Of course, the U.S. is interested in selling liquefied gas, including to Germany, but everyone understands that American and Canadian gas is quite difficult to deliver to Europe, the cost of gas is quite high even in the U.S, plus transport costs. Therefore, everyone realizes that in conditions of a deficit, Germany simply cannot live without Russian gas," the expert explained.
"It seems to me that this rhetoric will eventually come to naught. The United States understands that it’s much more important to have Germany as its main strategic partner in Europe. Look, American bases and American nuclear weapons are located on German territory. Europe's security from Russia's political influence is much more important for the U.S., in this terms energy is secondary," the director of the Institute of Strategic Planning and Forecasting said.
