(Montel) US president Donald Trump on Friday called the Nord Stream 2 pipeline a “horrible thing” and warned that “it’s a tragedy” for Germany to allow billions of dollars into Russia’s coffers.
“I think it’s a horrible thing what Germany is doing,” Trump told reporters at a joint press conference with Theresa May at the UK prime minister’s country residence Chequers.
He said the gas pipeline would mean that Germany will get 60-70% of its energy from Russia.
“How can you be working for peace and working from strength when someone has that kind of power over your country,” Trump said. “I think it’s very bad for Germany, very bad for the German people.”
The USD 11.7bn Nord Stream 2 is due to be completed in 2019, and will stretch 745 miles through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It will follow the track of the existing Nord Stream 1, doubling the pipeline’s annual capacity to 110bcm.
Germany argues the pipeline is necessary to fill an energy gap left by the phasing out of its nuclear plants, although the US has been pressuring German chancellor Angela Merkel to halt the pipeline.
When asked her thoughts about the project, the UK prime minister said the UK will make its views known at EU meetings. “This is something that we discuss around the European Union table, and obviously we will make our views known there.”
The Baltic states, Poland, Hungary and the Ukraine have all voiced fierce opposition to the pipeline on current terms.
The project is spearheaded by Russian state-run energy firm Gazprom, with financing from European firms Engie, OMV, Shell, Uniper and Wintershall.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday.
