Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the attacks on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines that connect Russia to Germany offer a “tremendous opportunity” to end Europe’s dependency on Russian energy.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs,” Blinken said at a joint press conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.
“That’s very significant and that offers tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come,” Blinken added.
Blinken made the comments when asked what the US and Canada are doing to ease Europe’s energy crisis in the wake of the Nord Stream sabotage. Blinken said that Washington had been working for some time to provide Europe with more energy, and as a result, the US is now Europe’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“And we’re now the leading supplier of LNG to Europe to help compensate for any gas or oil that it’s losing as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Blinken said.
Over the years, the US worked hard to oppose Nord Stream 2 by imposing sanctions but failed to stop its construction. The project was paused by Berlin on February 22 after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into the Donbas, an order that preceded the February 24 invasion.
There was always a chance Nord Stream 2 could be brought online if relations between Europe and Russia thawed, but now the damage could be irreparable. Russia recently stopped delivering gas through Nord Stream 1 as a result of Western sanctions.
At this point, it’s not clear who was behind the attacks on Nord Stream, but the US certainly has a motive. On Friday, Putin blamed the “Anglo-Saxons” for the incident, appearing to point the finger at the US and its allies.
“Sanctions are not enough for Anglo-Saxons. They have turned to sabotage, it’s unbelievable, but true, having organized explosions on the international gas pipelines of the Nord Stream,” the Russian leader said during a ceremony for the annexation of four Ukrainian territories.
The US has rejected the claim that it was behind the attack, and Western media is hinting that Russia was responsible even though the pipelines are mainly owned by Gazprom, Russia’s state gas company.
The Associated Press called the claim that the US was involved a “baseless conspiracy theory” that was being pushed by the Kremlin and Russian state media. But one of the most significant allegations came from Radek Sikorski, a former Polish Foreign Minister and current Member of European Parliament. Sikorski thanked the US for the incident on Twitter in a since-deleted tweet, which was not mentioned in the AP story.
The AP also left out the context that the US had been trying to stop Nord Stream 2 from being constructed through sanctions and pressure on the German government.
While neither Nord Stream 1 nor Nord Stream 2 were delivering gas to Europe at the time of the sabotage, both pipelines were holding gas under pressure. The leaks that were caused by explosions resulted in what could amount to the largest-ever single release of methane gas. The leaks were discovered last Tuesday, and Danish authorities said the Nord Stream 2 finally stopped leaking on Saturday while the Nord Stream 1 stopped on Sunday.
Correction: This article originally stated that Germany paused Nord Stream 2 after Russia invaded Ukraine, but that is not correct. It was paused on February 22 after Putin ordered troops into the Donbas, which came before the February 24 invasion.
So not suspicious at all that the US is now the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe. Of course not, oh no, not at all.
All possible US LNG could not replace the continent-scale gas needs of Europe. It is fantasy, innumeracy. The hard numbers on volumes are absurd.
The Germans know this. They know they have no chance of peace or recovery now.
That is why a once loyal nation is turning against the USA, more than 60% of the people turned against the US, the other European countries are no different, the Polish government may still support the US but not the people.
Yet they accept this from their “close ally”???
They did not expect their “close ally” to be a a venomous snake. But corruption must be involved too, stupidity alone is hard to believe.
Correct. Way back in the nineties a mittle known Green Party in Germany led Foreign Ministry. Joshke Fischer. He pushed the confused lleadership iinto following US policy in Balkans. For which former German Chacellor Schroeder was forever futious. It was a fluke. Fischer was a descendant of Germans that had to flee from Serbia after WWII. This was his personal vendetta.
But ever since, post-cold war US has been investing in Green politics. Outlandishly green, and always anti-Serb and anti-Russian,
Once the US investment in anti-Russian causes, was masked under anti-fosil fuel crusade. For better or for worse, masks are off now. All Green parties in Europe, especially German, Austrian, all Balkan states — are known for the collection of Russaphobes. They gravitate there. They receive incentives and rewards for outrageous Russaphobic behaviour, the more outrageous the better.
Arrival of Greens to power to Germany and Austria signaled to Russia that the business climate would deteriorate, and that undue importannce was going to be given to the Party. For example, as a minority party in the coalition, Greens are in the control of Foreign Ministry and the economy. Funds into politics are funneled through NED and its miriad of NGOs.
Maybe you know about the research report from the Rand corporation from Jan. 25 2022 but here is a link
/www.greanvillepost.com/2022/09/13/bombshell-classified-rand-corporation-executive-summary-research-report-january-25-2022-weakening-germany/
I am suspicious it is fishy as hell, but the risk if they got caught, I think would deter them. Some say maybe the Poles did it.
“Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the attacks on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines that connect Russia to Germany offer a “tremendous opportunity” to end Europe’s dependency on Russian energy. “Surely removes any doubt who actually cobbered thus pipeline
What a surprise? The only surprise was the speed at which the celebratory announcement was made.
Blinken Says Nord Stream Sabotage Is US Handywork
“No no no, we have said EVERYTHING ELSE except openly stating that it’s our handiwork. So you can’t say anything.”
As someone pointed out in the comments at RT: If the police investigated a violent crime, and there were only a handful who had the means to commit it, and one of them is the one with the main motive, and he had said a short time earlier that he’d do something in this direction, and a member of his family (Nuland) also said something would be done and one of his employees (a CIA guy) warned the victim (Germany) that this exact act could happen soon – that man would be arrested.
And especially if he cheers the deed afterward.
Have they actually denied involvement, or just said something like, “Wow, that’s crazy. Who would do that?”
Has the question been raised directly? Don’t ask/Don’t lose job.
Uh huh. How convenient for the USA.
It’s like telling someone who just got mugged what a great opportunity to give the mugger some extra cash.
Well yes, this thinking is why the US did this or had it done by proxies.
The Neocons want to kill the world.
Any ideas on how they plan to do it?….
You do know how, it is called MAD and ABC weapons will do.
( Atom, Biology, Chem.)
They will con the Russians into doing it. The Russians seem to fall for all their traps.
An admission of guilt by Freudian slip of the tongue?
A tremendous opportunity for whom, ask the Germans if its a tremendous opportunity for them to pay higher prices for way less gas. Perhaps its a tremendous opportunity for Russia to unleash its restrained resources on Kieve and pick up the tempo to surpass this WWII artillery duel to more updated missiles and munitions.
I would knock off Lyman with its concentration of Ukrainian troops there first. Followed a day later by a nuke on Kyiv which should have Mr.Z on his knees suing for peace. This has gone on for far too long.
It has likely been made clear to Mr. Putin — not just by Blinken, but also Xi, Modi, et al. — that any such course results in Moscow becoming a smoking radioactive crater.
No such thing better be made clear by the bombers of Hiroshima. I am hoping conventional weapons will remain the order of the day but there’s no call escalating to Armageddon, is there?
Well yes, but then DC and NYC too are smoking radioactive craters, and shortly after that China is running the world that no longer includes the US as a functioning nation.
So it is not really much of a US goal or threat.
Beijing would not escape destruction in such a scenario.
Please Thomas, notice that the threats are ALL made by the USA , its Defense Sec and Top Diplomat and National Security Adviser (admitted the months long “warnings” by Jake Sullivan). Putin knows better than any of the West what danger there is, and has continued the policy of NO use of nukes unless the actions of the USA make this the only option. btw it is not just Moscow; All the world would be at stake if the USA continues its aggression.
You seem to be responding to someone else. I didn’t refer to any threats.
Anyone who even marginally suggests escalating to nuclear weapons is a dangerous fool.
The fools are Winken, Blinken and Nod in NATO and the US and your goodself
Supporting a war to sell LNG? How non-original.
And yes, how utterly typical.
That is what wars are about, resources and markets for big corporations.
Just like after 9/11, when his buddy Netanyahu said that the terrorism was “a great opportunity”.
I think he said it was great for Israel.
Sez the Blinkin’ Idiot from the warm, cozy comfort of his own abode with the luxury of hot water.
I wonder how much TNT the US has sent Ukraine – TNT whose whereabouts – due to congress’s refusal to require oversight on military aid – it can’t account for?
TNT is fungible, like cash.
Death and destruction is always an “opportunity” for these sociopathic ghouls.
Nicely phrased…
Death and destruction is always an “opportunity” for these sociopathic ghouls.
USA is the “Empire”,,Blinken is a raving idiot and a threat to every USA citizen,,he must be purged from the Fed Gov.??
Agreed. Unfortunately, again, he’ll be followed by the same.
Our own little wannabe Tamerlane, seeking to make his mark on the back of a has-been.
Lie, deny, then alibi?…
Does Blinky have to be so godawefull bad at this … so utterly amateurish? I mean, really? Freeze and lose your jobs but it’s ok because now you don’t have to trade with your neighbor. You can buy inadequate amounts of gas at ten times the price from us … or else …
It’s very much a tell, kind of like when Hillary Clinton cackled with glee when she learned Qaddafi had been murdered. Kind of like I did when I learned that Rumsfeld and Powell had died, but for entirely different reasons. I will be taking some days off to celebrate the passing of W and Cheney, should I live so long.
🙂
Yes. I say bullshit to that ‘mandatory’ mourning period. I have empathy for family members, but I refuse to pretend to not feel glee when some warmongering piece of shit dies. And the list just keeps growing.
Is that almost formulaic?…. Isn’t it slightly annoying that Blinken is almost gleeful?…
The hubris of Sec. Blinken is stunning. They need to be brought down VERY quickly which can very easily be done with one very small nuclear attack. I hope Mr.Putin does not wait much longer.
It will save lives in the long run.
No.
Nice try, agent.
No, one small attack would not do it. One small attack would serve US political interests in isolating Russia.
What Russia would need is a massive attack on at least Ukraine, essentially isolating it from the West by making its border regions radioactive and uninhabited.
Putin does not really want to do that, as shown by his reluctance to wreck the wider Ukraine state. But if he finds he needs to go nuclear, what he needs is to go big.
However, US threats to respond also suggest he would need to pre-empt a US nuclear attack. MAD. That is the biggest thing holding him back. It is however a US threat of suicide a la the Sheriff in Blazing Saddles, and so not entirely credible for a tertiary interest like pushing NATO into Ukraine.
“Blinken said that Washington had been working for some time to provide Europe with more energy, and as a result, the US is now Europe’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG).”
Any mention of price caps?
“Caps for thee, not for me!”
He might as well slap a sticker on his forehead saying “we done it.”
What was the point of the 2016 election again? We fought so hard and bitterly divided the country…and got nothing changed in our neocon infested foreign policy. Blinken is just as much as a neocon cancer, if not more, compared to Trump’s secretaries of states.
It’s like a disease… Which you were already implying, so, I reinforced you! 😉
The US has tried to disrupt Russian gas and oil pipelines for over 60 years by a combination of sanctions and sabotage. In 1962, the US sanctioned German exports of large-diameter pipes for Russian pipelines. In 1982, Reagan signed an order to blow up a gas pumping station in Siberia in what is known as the biggest non-nuclear blast of all times. In 2015, the Swedes detected an unmanned vehicle laden with explosives, which was to blow up the NordStream pipelines. The Swedes never disclosed the origin of the device, but it’s obvious that it was of Western origin. If it had been Russian, they would have made a huge fuss.
Bornholm used to have a Nato listening post and it is safe to assume that Nato still monitors the waters around the island through which Russians ships have to pass. It’s probably impossible for anybody to piss in the sea without a red light starting to flash at some Nato observation post. For Russia to chose that place of all to sabotage the pipelines would be pure lunacy. The US probably used some contractors or proxy forces to make sure they have credible deniability. It should be possible to launch an unmanned submarine from the island or from a small boat setting of from the island. But maybe this administration has become so bloody minded that it ordered the USS Kearsarge, which passed the site shortly before the explosion, to carry out the sabotage.
FWIW:
https://www.monkeywerxus.com/blog/the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-sabotage
What is wrong with the media? Or our politicians? Is it because prople are so ignorant, that they are incapable accessing absolutely open source information?
Here is the “mystery”. Both pipelines sabotaged at the same time. An accident? Not a chance.
Bornholm island is sarurated with sensors — including underwater sensors to be able to detect Russian submarines. This means being able to detect all underwater movement all the way to the depths submarines traverse. Pipelines are laid in shallow waters, where submarines canno go. Therefore , fully within the range of sensors.
Danish government is fully complicit — giving litteraly the permission. Otherwise, nobody would risk beinng detected in the process of laying expliosives. The operation of this kind required equipment and on-board support. As such operation could not be a work of just few hours — and required more then one surface vessel over the lication of both pipelines. such loitering of
ships surely was noted. Not to mention the use of undedwater equipment.
So what is the mystery which the great minds from CNN to FOX are trying to solve?
Blinken clearly got over the demise of lioelunes pretty quick.
But hold in onto optimism — LNG is not tge solution. Everybody knows it. One, US fracking gas yields are lower each year. Second, it is called “near gas”, as it requires additional processing. different containers and ships, difficulty with gasifying and no networks ready to take it in. On a short term emergency basis, sure — paying TEN TIMES THE PRICE OF RUSSIAN GAS — is OK. Not sustainable in the long run. In Germany, we are called war profiteers.
Gasprom did say that damage can be repaired. It will have to replace many sections, and water filled pipes are normal in the construction phase. Of course, tgey know the answer.
Real price is paid now by investors — German, Duch. Austrian. There are many angry people.
Of course — US is not destroying Germany to sell its fracking gas. No, the goal is more comprehensive. By simuntaneously depriving Europe of gas, and squeezing China exports and investments out of Europe — the goal is multifold. One, Russia will have less revenue and less money to support sanctioned energy producers such as Venezuela and Iran. With China having less money — it will also have to curtail its support to those countries. And more importantly, by producing less, China may reduce bying oil and gas —leaving GULF states in search of markets. With mire then willing US waiting for Venezuela. Iran, Saudi Arabia to come begging to sell to US anything at any price, This is the expectation.
But we are not done yet. There is still TURK stream taking Russian gas to Europe via Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Austria to Germany. Cutting off pipeline in Black Sea — another project. Turkey already prevented one sabotage by Ukraine,
Then, a wet dream come true, force such weakened Turkey to allow Israeli pipeline to Greece, and then using tge existing Turk Stream pipelines all the way to Germany.
Tge goal — weak Russia and China changing calculus of energy producing countries to come back to our control.
Plan has merits. Except as Lutin said, one cannot eat paper money. And you cannot heat homes by giving your paper money to people in exchange for enegy. The real value today are food, manufactured goods and infrastructure to create your own development. Russia is number one exporter of grains, and high in other foods, China has the largest manufacturing by far of any country in the world. Russia can supply China with energy. And they are developing others to stand up on their feet, Even if Chinna does not have tge dollars or Euros it can still sell to the world its products, build them infrastructure using mutual currencies. Besides energy Rusdia has metals and minerals required for manufacturing.
It is possible to imagine a population of Tajikistan being
better of then population of Greece, Britaim or Poland.
But the decisionmakers are betting on winning. As it is not looking good — every single day they are mentioning nukes in CNN. Russia is not threatening, unles the existence of Russian nuclear posture is by itself threatening.
But I suspect that daily pounding on issue of Russian numes signals to me that US is prepared to use them should the anyicipated win fails to materialize fast.
Already cannibalizing euro, pound and yen.
Nord Stream demise celebtated on Wall Street — big jump in reaction to Blinken words.
OK, folks, let’s think about this a little: the US, Russia…or Ukraine.
By ‘find a motive, find the killer’ logic, one can come up with a motive for any of them – though arguably Russia has the weakest motive. (see, e.g., Time’s ‘Russia did it, even though we have to admit that doesn’t make any sense’ article, “Russia Blows Up Gas Pipelines, Declaring an All-Out Energy War”)
Now the US and Ukraine both have a motive – isolate Russia, in particular stop it from using ‘energy blackmail’ so that Europe doesn’t apply sanctions, and so energy fears don’t support antiwar sentiment, plus that ‘opportunity’ Blinken points to.
But…I consider it…not impossible, but improbable that – assuming Blinken was privy to it – he would have declared it was opportune right after. Such a statement is gratuitous…Sure, we can imagine a neocon spy thriller where Blinken ‘pulls off the greatest performance of his life with da’ fate of da’ free world at stake!!!’…or a ‘covert op’ where even he didn’t know. But…
…think about lil’ ol’ Ukraine…which has already – in ‘close the skies’ and now ‘let us in NATO now’ demands – shown it is prepared to set off WW III:
With its ‘nothing left to lose’ and ‘the US/Europe isn’t doing enough for us’ mentality, and its anger at Russia, and its record of covert strikes on Russian territory…it seems like just the kind of low-tech sabotage act it would concoct and carry out.
So no one knows. But my best guess – Ukraine.
Hm…on the other hand, moonofalabama makes a compelling case for its having been the US based on detailed logistical info about US military at that spot, among other info…
For anyone thinking about this, it’s a must read imho:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/09/whodunnit-facts-related-to-the-sabotage-attack-on-the-nord-stream-pipelines.html
Ukraine could not do it, it requires extreme expertise. As Alexis Mercouris points out on YouTube (he and TheNewAtlas are the best war commentators there by far), movies make it seem like it’s easy to blow up civilian infrastructure, but it’s very hard. And especially if it’s at the bottom of the sea, built to withstand tremendous pressure.
The only countries that could possibly do this are the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and maybe Poland. (Poland if they’d been preparing and upgrading for this particular act for years. And remember they sent war ships to harass the ship Fortuna when they built the second pipeline.)
But Germany would not destroy their chance to import gas in the future. Russia has ZERO reason to destroy the pipeline that they WANT to transport gas through. Any claim that they did is a nutcase claim not worth listening to. If they didn’t want to sell gas – guess what – they could just not sell it.
This was designed to destroy Germany’s chance of dropping the sanctions and import gas to save their economy. It was designed to destroy Russia’s chance of selling the gas and have the sanctions against them dropped.
France would never do that to their fellow EU member and EU ally. Especially not since they know the war will be over eventually and Europe will need the gas. Britain wouldn’t do it to another Western European country, who they work closely with. Any government in these countries that did it, would lose power, and the involved could be prosecuted.
Which is the country that bombed water refineries and power stations in Iraq for 12 years before invading? Which country supplies Saudi Arabia to bomb Yemen’s food depots? Which country can invade any other country and avoid sanctions? Which is the only country that can do this and get away with it even if they are discovered?
Plus, which is the country that has satellites that could reveal underseas movements in the Baltic Sea? Unless it was their own movements, of course.
Thanks for a reasoned, evidence-based and civil rebuttal.
I set forth an argument to arrive at a judgment…but like most I have no expertise…and I’m not invested in my specific conjecture – yes, US, likely, motivated and able culprit…
I will mention 3 things w/o doing the labor of looking them up again: first, I read somewhere that parts of those waters are “shallow”…whatever that means; second, I read that, in fact, a Polish coastal military base actually has expertise in blowing up things underwater (I think that one was moonofalabama “Whodunnit” post, or a link on it); third, another article quoted an authority in…maybe the Danish military…anyway, one of the countries whose waters the sabotage was in…asserting the explosives could have been placed by “divers.”
Best…
I wouldn’t try to muddy the waters here. Whoever did it–the US, the UK, Poland or Ukraine–absolutely had the hegemon’s blessing.
He is not wrong. This is a tremendous opportunity for the US to suck the lifeblood out of Europe and to further enslave its European vassals.
In the post-war period, no German chancellor has been humiliated by a US president like chancellor Scholz. Even Adenauer knew how to defend German interests. The US forces Germany to commit economic suicide and the Germans say, what else can we do for you Sir.
The USA weaponized energy, Russia did NOT weaponize energy, NEVER. The USA now extort Europeans to buy their gas.
NS 1&2 were free and fair business agreements, both sides honored the contracts, in close to 50 years there was never any problem. Until the Americans got involved. Now they can extort the Europeans and claim they are trustworthy and reliable, a bad joke from people who break contracts left and right and force contracts and their conditions on others.
The European people are turning against the USA, it is the end of NATO and the stupid incompetent Blinken does not get it.
He is no Lavrov, Mr. Lavrov is a real and competent diplomate. He is a man with character and integrity, Blinken is garbage.
To destroy Europe is a ” TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY” for the USA, that tells it all. THAT IS WHY THEY DID IT.
To destroy Europe is a ” TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY” for the USA, that tells it all. THAT IS WHY THEY DID IT.
La de dah di dah — as R.E.M. put it: it’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine. So far, here, far away in California we feel just fine. Not too many fires in fire season, no truly massive power outages. Temperature in the 70’s in the Bay Area. Ain’t life grand? And our secretary of state is assuring us that explosions/disruptions of the Nord Stream are great for the US, in fact an opportunity. Hooray for US! Too bad for Europe and the rest of the World! (Although China seems to be doing A-okay.)
“take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs,” Poor Blinky. Weapons are the mainstay of the USA’s “defense” all over the globe. Putin is imperial??? Starting with Europe’s most indebted and Nazified country, next door to it and supported by NATO which has designated Russia as an enemy, is hardly an imperial design.
The odious and terminally brain-damaged Blinken is nearly as big an embarrassment to once-great America as Biden himself. The script being carried out (including the criminal bombing of the pipelines) will result in the U.S. being shunned by the rest of the world.
There will be no peace for a long time to come. NATO’s armies are mercenaries, Americans don’t see body bags or caskets draped in flags coming home. They see no soldiers in uniforms, have no casualties in their families, the president never has to see the inside of Walter Reed, Zelensky strides around in olive green T-shirts for photo’s but never inside a hospital with war casualties, military and civilian. They face no consequences for the war they refuse to end. The most that can happen to the Americans is to get their sugar rationed, what a disaster that will be for the cry-babies.
Russians do have a draft and they do fight for their very existence, they know what an invasion is like. Putin grew up in Petersburg where his family experienced the siege of the city first hand, he knows from his parents first hand what it is like.
A hurricane is nothing compared to war.
“Zelensky strides around in olive green T-shirts for photo’s but never inside a hospital with war casualties, military and civilian.”
Incorrect, as ten seconds on any search engine would have shown you (if you cared about the truth, that is). Visiting casualties is something most presidents do. Including both Zelenskyy and Putin.
So now Europe is dependent on the US ? , talk about jumping out of the frying pan into the fire , in case you didn`t know Russia has all way`s been a reliable supplier of gas / oil some think the Germans have said many times , no threat of sanctions from Russia , you wait and see if the Americans don`t use Europes dependency on them as a weapon to get the Europeans to do their bidding remember you read it here first.
What an ass!
Most people I talk to think Russia blew up the pipelines.
Most people think it is a fringe conspiracy theory that the US is involved.
Most people I talk to are liberals.
Apathy and non critical thought are killing our society.
I used to think it was mainly the right that was most afflicted
but guess it is now universal.
And the stock market shot up.