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After his term as German chancellor was up (1998-2005), Gerhard Schröder became chairman of several gas companies that were (majority) owned by the Russian stat

by jcfrei 4y ago

After his term as German chancellor was up (1998-2005), Gerhard Schröder became chairman of several gas companies that were (majority) owned by the Russian state (Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, Gazprom). There was nothing covert about the Kremlin courting Germany with its cheap gas - it was plain to see.

dnh44 4y ago
Cheap energy is great for Germany's energy intensive heavy industries, and strategically important. Russia and Germany getting cozy and growing together economically couldn't have made the US or the UK very comfortable and I believe this was at least a part of the US motivation to pull Ukraine from Russia's orbit. I mean it makes a lot more sense to me than the US actually giving a shit about Ukrainians and their freedom. It's very well played on the part of the US. After all the point of NATO was to "keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-agenda-idUSKBN0FB06B20140706 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-agenda-idUSKBN0FB06B20...
- theroofian 4y ago
  Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. This is a reasonable take, especially following the way the US reacts to any prospects of getting the Nord Stream 2 started. “US pulling X from Y’s orbit” has been happening around the world since at least the 70s, nothing surprising here.
  - teh_klev 4y ago
    > “US pulling X from Y’s orbit” has been happening around the world since at least the 70s It's been going on for far longer than that and pretty much since the late 1940's.