Latest news with #NordStream2
New York Post
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Ted Cruz baffled by Tucker Carlson's ‘weird' Russia obsession as right-wing pundit demands Texas Sen. apologize for Ukraine war
Ted Cruz was baffled by Tucker Carlson's 'weird' Russia obsession during a testy debate between the duo this week, with the right-wing pundit even demanding that the Texas senator apologize for the war in Ukraine. Carlson characterized the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion of neighboring Ukraine as 'the war against Russia,' and faulted Cruz (R-Texas) for fomenting opposition against Moscow. 'We were unable to beat Russia in the war that you supported against Russia!' Carlson exclaimed during a tense exchange that dropped Wednesday in which the former Fox News host accused Cruz of presiding over foreign policy failures. 'You've been spending the last three years telling us that [Russian leader] Vladimir Putin is evil and we're gonna beat him with other people's children,' Carlson continued. 'And a million of those kids are now dead! You've never apologized for that. That was a full failure!' 'All these failures, and no one ever says I'm sorry!' he later groused. 3 Tucker Carlson suggested that Ted Cruz bears responsibility for the Russia-Ukraine war. The Tucker Carlson Show Taken aback, Cruz blamed former President Joe Biden's 'weakness' for enabling the war. Carlson countered that Biden's 'aggression' caused the bloody war and pointed to former Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the Munich Security Conference in February 2022 as evidence. Putin had been mobilizing his forces along the border with Ukraine for months before the invasion took place. Cruz harked back to a sanctions package against Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was shot down by the Senate before the war, which he argued may have prevented it. He also cited the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan as a key factor in Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. 'I gotta say, I don't understand, for some reason, you are really invested in defending Russia. I don't get that. I'm not attacking you,' Cruz vented at one point, stressing that he was 'genuinely' bewildered why Carlson is 'so passionate' about that. 3 Sen. Ted Cruz seemed perplexed about Tucker Carlson's position on Russia. The Tucker Carlson Show Carlson later shot back that 'I don't want to be at war with Russia' and warned of the dangers of Moscow and Beijing growing closer. The former primetime Fox News anchor also argued that 'Russia is stronger' now despite the onslaught of sanctions imposed against Moscow and claimed that the West has grown weak. 'Western Europe is weaker and more in debt. The United States is weaker and much more in debt,' Carslon contended, insinuating that the US needs to prioritize domestic plights rather than overseas wars. At one point, Cruz acknowledged that while he voted against the first major tranche of military aid to war-torn Ukraine, he voted against subsequent ones after concluding the efforts to support Kyiv weren't working. 'It hasn't worked. So I've been in between. I haven't been on the full Ukraine, full-throated hawk side or the anti- [Ukraine side] from day one,' the Texas senator said. 3 Russian leader Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Tucker Carlson last year. via REUTERS The bulk of Carlson's explosive interview with Cruz centered around the Israel-Iran conflict and philosophical differences on foreign policy intervention. Cruz dubbed himself an 'isolationist hawk' who wants a middle ground between hawks and doves. Lawmakers in the Senate are currently mulling bipartisan legislation to significantly ramp up sanctions on Russia.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russia's Novak says no one has approached government about buying Nord Stream 2
ST PETERSBURG, June 19 (Reuters) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that no one has approached the Russian government about buying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The Wall Street Journal reported in November that an American investor, Stephen P. Lynch, was seeking to buy the pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which was damaged by mysterious blasts in 2022. The $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, set to carry Russian gas to Europe, was completed in 2021 but was never commissioned as relations with the West soured due to the onset of the conflict in Ukraine.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
We must listen to the Baltic States. The Russian hybrid threat is growing
During his visit to London last week, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte issued this dire warning about the threat of Russian aggression: 'Russia could be ready to use military force against Nato within five years. Let's not kid ourselves, we are all on the Eastern flank now.' Rutte warned that Russia produces more ammunition in three months than Nato manufactures in a year and spotlit Chinese technology's critical role in reconstituting Russia's military arsenal. Rutte's stark warning aimed to snap European countries out of their state of complacency but received a mixed reception on the continent. As Russia helplessly watched the destruction of some of its most-prized strategic bombers and struggles to gain a decisive offensive advantage in eastern Ukraine, Rutte's framing seemed hyperbolic to many in Western Europe. For the Baltic States, however, Rutte's rhetoric was not nearly strident enough. Due to his past support for the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline and sluggish approach to increasing defence spending as Dutch Prime Minister, Rutte was already an unpopular figure in the Baltic States. Rutte's latest comments reawakened those critiques as they depicted Russia as a long-term danger rather than an urgent threat to Nato's security. The Baltic States have compelling reasons to be frustrated with Rutte's incrementalism. By illegally transiting its shadow fleet of oil tankers through the Baltic Sea, weaponising migration across land borders and carrying out disruptive cyberattacks, Russia has demonstrated that it is on a war footing with the Baltic States. By dismissing these aggressive actions as mere hybrid threats, Nato risks trivialising an existential threat to the cogency of its alliance. The mood of frustration in the Baltic States is especially pronounced because of the long build-up to Russia's current escalations against them. When I spoke to senior Estonian officials last month, they argued that Russia never truly viewed the Baltic States as sovereign after they restored their independence in 1991. As Estonia pushed for Nato membership during the 1990s, Russian ultranationalists began issuing apocalyptic threats. After earning a plurality of votes in the 1993 legislative elections, LDPR leader and ultranationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky warned Estonians to flee to Sweden on fishing boats and threatened to deport the Estonians who stayed home to Siberia. But instead of being recognised for presciently warning about the Russian threat, the Baltic States were all-too-often accused of crying wolf. Even after Russia displayed its true hand by illegally annexing Crimea in 2014 and launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Baltic States still struggled to get their message heard. In response to tightening sanctions against Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko warned in May 2021 that he would allow drugs and migrants to flood into European Union (EU) territory. Lukashenko's threats came to pass as illegal migrants overwhelmed Latvia and Lithuania's border defences in the autumn of 2021. Despite the scale of this threat, the EU refused to finance the construction of a border wall on Lithuania's frontiers. In response to the unresponsiveness of key Nato countries to their concerns, the Baltic States have taken matters into their own hands. From announcing 5 per cent of GDP defence spending targets to Lithuania's investment of $1.2 billion in border security with Belarus and Russia, three of Nato's smallest member states are setting a positive example for the rest of the alliance. These states are also trying to steer Nato towards committing to a firmer response to security threats that fall below the threshold of conventional war. Their argument is that Russia's hybrid threats are steps on an escalation ladder that could lead to full-scale war. Lithuanian officials justified this contention by arguing that shadow-fleet ships could escalate from cutting undersea cables to destroying liquefied natural gas terminals and use disruptive GPS jamming to down civilian aeroplanes. Based on its track record, Russia would maintain a level of deniability around these aggressive actions and any Baltic retaliation could lead to an invasion. As Nato's Article 5 security guarantees do not clearly extend to hybrid threats, former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves and former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis recently called for the creation of a new permanent discussion forum on hybrid threats and the potential construction of a Baltic regional security organisation with robust military capabilities. In the European Parliament and Nato gatherings, Baltic officials are calling for European countries to re-evaluate their risk aversion in confronting Russian aggression head-on and to more thoroughly sanction the financial infrastructure that supports the shadow fleet. The efficacy of Ukraine's cross-border operations and the limitations of Russia's retaliatory capacity has caused some Baltic officials to view an exclusive focus on deterrence as obsolete. Ahead of the Nato summit in the Hague later this month, there will be a major focus on Ukraine's future within the organisation. Time should also be devoted to addressing the concerns of the Nato alliance's three most vulnerable and committed participants.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EU has purchased €33 billion worth of Russian liquefied natural gas since February 2022
The European Union has imported Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth €32.7 billion since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Source: German news magazine Stern, as reported by European Pravda Details: Stern noted that this figure was provided by the German Federal Statistical Office in response to a request from the pro-Russian Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). According to the data received, the cost of LNG imports from Russia to the EU between February 2022 and March 2025 amounts to almost €33 billion. During the same period, the European Union imported LNG from the United States worth €95.1 billion. In Stern magazine, BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht criticised the costly double standards of the sanctions policy: "€33 billion for Russian LNG since the start of the war, but Russian pipeline gas is deemed taboo in Germany". BSW has long advocated restarting the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Security and Defence, however, is calling for a stop to imports of Russian LNG. She said: "It is completely unacceptable that the European Union continues to import liquefied natural gas from Russia worth billions of euros three years after the start of Putin's brutal war of aggression". Background: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz promised to do everything possible to weaken Russia's military machine and prevent the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from becoming operational. The European Union is reportedly close to a decision to include Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 in a new draft of sanctions against Russia, putting an end to rumours about their possible resumption. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Newsweek
11-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Europe Delivers 'Final Nail' Into Putin Gas Empire's Coffin
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The latest proposed EU sanctions aimed at punishing Vladimir Putin for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine could deliver the knockout blow for Russian natural gas sales in Europe, according to one energy analyst. If approved by all EU members, the package "could put the final nail in Nord Stream 2's coffin" Olga Khakova from the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center said, referring to the pipelines between Russia and Germany. Russia's oil and banking sectors were also targeted by the EU'S 18th sanctions package unveiled Tuesday by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen who said that "strength is the only language that Russia will understand." Ivan Hortal Sanchez from Razom We Stand told Newsweek the Ukrainian climate campaign group welcomed the proposal but the EU should also sanction more tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment. This image from January 8, 2020 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin at the opening ceremony of the Turkstream Gas Pipeline Project, Istanbul, Turkey. This image from January 8, 2020 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin at the opening ceremony of the Turkstream Gas Pipeline Project, Istanbul, It Matters Russia's natural gas exports are critical revenue generators to pay both for the war Putin started and for his plans to expand Moscow's military. As Europe weans itself off Russian gas which Moscow is struggling to sell elsewhere, the EU's sanctions package could end the prospect of the reopening of the Nord Stream pipelines. The measures also target Russia's sanctions-busting "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and could impose a $45 price cap on seaborne oil, which if approved by all EU members, would deliver a further blow to Moscow's coffers. What To Know European officials announced Tuesday the EU's 18th raft of sanctions aimed at forcing Russia to the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the package would sanction firms linked to the Nord Stream pipelines that have been non-operational but are at the center of speculation over whether they could be restarted. Khakova deputy director for European energy security at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, said that the package "could put the final nail in Nord Stream 2's coffin." In comments emailed to Newsweek, Khakova added it would end the "zombie project debate once and for all" and would send a message to LNG producers, which may be hesitant to expand partnerships with the European buyers if reverting to Russian gas dependence was a possibility." Ivan Hortal Sanchez, European Union campaigner at Razom We Stand, told Newsweek Nordstream symbolized the EU's toxic dependence on Russian gas before the full-scale invasion. However, Russia's pivot to LNG shipping keeps fueling the Russian war machine and so Brussels should sanction more tankers carrying the Russian fuel, particularly those insured or owned by European companies, he added. This image from July 11, 2022 shows the receiving station for the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline near Lubmin, Germany. This image from July 11, 2022 shows the receiving station for the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline near Lubmin, We Stand has also called for the further listings of Russian shadow fleet tankers, which are being used to circumvent an EU and G7-led oil price cap. That cap which took effect in February 2023 set at $60 per barrel of seaborne crude but oil prices have decreased a lot since then. Von der Leyen pitched a new cap of $45 per barrel as well as banning importing refined products made with Russian crude oil and traded under a different label. The EU sanctions would also aim at limiting the Kremlin's ability to raise funds or carry out financial transactions, with a further 22 Russian banks to be hit with measures. Also, the assets of more than 20 Russian and foreign companies alleged to be providing support to the Kremlin's war machine would be frozen. What People Are Saying Olga Khakova deputy director for European energy security at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center: "This package could put the final nail in Nord Stream 2's coffin, providing a much overdue, decisive vision for the future of Russian pipeline gas flows to Europe." Ivan Hortal Sanchez, European Union Campaigner at Razom We Stand: "We welcome the European Commission's proposal to sanction Nord Stream 2 once and for European Union should never return to the era of Russian pipeline gas, which has been weaponized by the Kremlin since the start of the war." What Happens Next The EU has set a roadmap to fully end EU dependency on Russian energy by 2027 and the sanctions package is a step towards that. However, the latest package will require tight language on sanctions implementation to prevent caveats or exemptions. The package also requires the backing of all 27 EU members. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungary's hard-right leader, Viktor Orbán, who are on good terms with Putin, have threatened to block additional EU sanctions on Russian energy. The oil price cap is a Group of 7 measure and van der Leyen said this will be discussed at next week's G7 meeting in Canada.
