"When US President Donald Trump published a letter to NATO allies on his social network Truth Social on Saturday, Brussels braced for the usual storm. Trump accused member states of weakening the alliance's negotiating position and bargaining power in relation to Russia's war in Ukraine by continuing to buy Russian oil and gas. He vowed that the US would be ready to impose "major sanctions" on Russia once all NATO countries had stopped such purchases."
""The EU has dramatically reduced its reliance on Russian oil and gas," he told DW. Ironically, he notes that the two countries doing their best not to phase out their dependence are not only friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also with Trump. "If Trump wants the EU to stop buying oil from Russia, then leaning on his best friends would probably be a good move. I haven't seen any sign that he's doing that, however," he told DW."
A message published on Truth Social urged NATO members to stop buying Russian oil and gas and threatened major sanctions once all members had ceased purchases. The message also called for sweeping tariffs on China and claimed such measures would end the ongoing war. EU officials face difficulty persuading Hungary and Slovakia to diversify away from Russian energy, leaving those governments on the defensive. Analysts note a gap between rhetoric and action: the EU has significantly reduced dependence on Russian energy overall, but Hungary and Slovakia remain reliant due to established infrastructure and higher diversification costs, slowing progress.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]