At NATO, Trump accuses Germany of being Russian 'captive' for supporting Baltic Sea gas pipeline

At NATO, Trump accuses Germany of being Russian

US President Donald Trump accused Germany of being a captive of Russia on Wednesday as Western leaders gathered in Brussels for a NATO summit where...





With tensions in the Western defence alliance already running high over Trump's demands for more contributions to ease the burden on US taxpayers, and a nationalistic stance that has seen trade disputes threaten economic growth in Europe, the latest remarks will fuel concerns among allies over the US role in keeping the peace that has reigned since World War Two.


German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen hit back almost immediately: "We have a lot of issues with Russia without any doubt," she told reporters in English. "On the other hand, you should keep the communication line between countries or alliances and opponents without any question."



Trump said Germany had shut down coal and nuclear power plants on environmental grounds, increasing dependence, like much of the rest of Europe, on Russian gas.




However, his comment that "Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they are getting 60 to 70% of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline" appeared to mis-state German energy use -- about 20% of which is accounted for by oil and gas imports from Russia.

Trump also renewed his call for other NATO allies, including Germany, to "step it up" and pay in more to the Western alliance after years in which US taxpayers have, he said, borne an "unfair" share of military spending.


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