—The Russia-owned gas pipeline is not in use after Berlin vowed not to make it operational due to the war in Ukraine.

—The potential plans come as Europe faces an energy crisis after Russia began reducing gas supplies.

Germany is reportedly considering seizing parts of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to allocate for a liquefied natural gas terminal as Europe reels from an energy crisis.

Der Spiegel reported Friday that the economy ministry has discussed expropriating portions of the Russian-owned gas pipeline in German territory, according to Reuters.

The pieces would then be cut off from the rest of the pipeline and repurposed in an LNG terminal on the Baltic Sea. Europe has increasingly turned to LNG imports, especially from the US, as it looks for alternatives to Russian supplies.

Russia’s state-run energy giant Gazprom completed construction of the Nord Stream 2 at the end of 2021 but it has yet to be used. Germany vowed not to let it go into operation after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The potential pipeline seizure comes as Europe faces an energy crisis. Russia has slashed gas flows from a separate pipeline, Nord Stream 1, in recent weeks just as European countries build up inventories ahead of the winter season.

Energy storage in Europe is roughly half full, and the EU is worried that a harsh winter coupled with an already frustrated supply chain for energy will lead to shortages.

On Thursday, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck declared the country is now in the “alarm” phase of its gas emergency plan, signaling that businesses and households need to cut down on consumption and that the government foresees long-term risk of supply shortfalls.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol told the Financial Times earlier this week that Europe should prepare for a complete cut-off in Russian gas exports.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/germany-considers-seizing-parts-russian-162450590.html

The post Germany considers seizing parts of a Russian gas pipeline to use in an LNG terminal as Europe reels from an energy crisis, report says first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Today is the day the mainstream has been dreading.  In actual fact, the abortion issue has been handed back to the states.  The 1973 ruling was invalidated as a matter of law.  The idea that the U. S. Constitution handed some sacred “right” to women was a fantastic reach in the first place.  Finally, nearly 50 years later, it’s been overturned.  Some “crowds” (to be charitable) have been parading, banging drums and chanting in front of the homes of Supreme Court Justices.  Who are these people?  Are they wearing masks outdoors for fear of COVID, or to hide their identities?

If the hard left gets its way, there will be all kinds of mayhem.  Nobody seems interested in prosecuting those trying to influence the decision, a crime though it may be.  They seem to be doing the dirty work we were promised.  Will it set off riots?  Maybe looting and burning?

It’s Trump’s fault, of course.  Him and his ultra-maga supporters.  Biden is mad,  Maxine Waters says they’re going to be out protesting in their thousands, or millions.  “We are going to make sure we fight for the right to control our own bodies.”  (Where was she during the mask mandate?)  They’ll defy the Supreme Court.  How, other than causing a ruckus, we’ll see.

Obama says the court has curtailed our freedoms.  Michelle is heartbroken.  It is a “horrifying decision.”  They’re both calling on people to join protests and give Planned Parenthood support.  The Justice Dept. says it will “use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”  It’s hard to know what that means, but the weeks ahead should give us some idea.   AOC is shown with her mouth wide open, talking about “birthing people” and  chanting with protesters.  I guess this is supposed to let us know she thinks men can get pregnant.  But sure enough, some states are announcing that abortion is illegal, as of today.

World leaders are appalled.  Especially Justin Trudeau of Canada.  He’s horrified and can’t imagine the fear and anger that it will cause.  Even Boris Johnson is bent out of shape.  Just when the whole world was seeing the light and liberalizing laws governing abortion.

It’s the second time this week they’ve seen the court rule against their  beloved philosophy.  First it struck down New York’s gun law.  So they were already ticked.  The abortion ruling though, just might drive them over the edge.  The police caught a guy who said he’d come to “kill Kavanaugh.”  No big deal, according to the mainstream media.  Hardly worth reporting.  But all bets are off as we wait to see how crazy the protesters will get.  This may well justify riots and looting.  Even if the rioters and looters don’t know what they’re mad about.  Riot police are staging outside the Supreme Court, just in case.  But not everybody is down in the dumps.  Some are celebrating.  Trump says to God be the glory.

What ever happened to Ukraine?  It’s not in the news much lately.  The last thing we heard was that we were going to send billions of dollars and more.  Apparently Russia has had to call in troops that were stationed in other hot spots.  Some are worried that this thing may drag on and that other countries may get involved causing an escalation that may get out of control.  We hope they’re wrong.

Meanwhile UN officials are warning of food shortages.  The pope is hinting at resignation.  Maybe he’s done enough damage.  The American economy is reeling from inflation being driven by the  pretend administration’s war on oil.  They want you to know there’s nothing more they can do.  But at least something’s gone right today.    Have a great Sabbath.

Mark

P.S. The new Feast brochures are printed and will be going out with the next letter, probably Monday or Tuesday.

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 24 June 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Leaders of the European Union’s 27 member states are meeting for the second day of a summit on Friday to address the bloc’s inflation-hit economy.

The first day of the summit ended on a high note. The leaders agreed in Brussels on granting Ukraine and Moldova official status as candidates for EU membership — a move hailed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as “historic.”

But the display of support for Kyiv comes amid wider economic consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Russia blamed for economic woes
A spike in inflation and lagging economic growth across the world has been blamed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The West also accuses Moscow of “weaponizing” grain supplies and natural gas deliveries.

On Thursday, the European Commission said gas supply cuts from Russia affected a dozen EU countries. Germany, which is heavily reliant on Russian gas, triggered the second phase of an emergency gas plan.

The squeeze of Russian oil is pressuring the EU to find alternatives to prevent an energy crisis.

Germany running into gas supply issues is likely to have EU-wide repercussions, Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned ahead of Friday’s meeting.

“If Germany gets into trouble, it will also have an enormous impact on all other European countries, including our own,” he said.

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), is joining the EU leaders on Friday to address growing inflation and soaring prices.

According to the EU stats agency Eurostat, inflation in the 19-country eurozone is at a record high of 8.1%.

The ECB has pledged to raise interest rates in July — for the first time in more than a decade — in a bid to curb inflation.

The European Commission also cut its economic growth forecast for this year from 4% that had been expected before the war in Ukraine to 2.7%.

fb/kb (dpa, Reuters)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/eu-leaders-talk-economy-as-russia-slashes-gas-supplies/a-62243088

The post EU leaders talk economy as Russia slashes gas supplies first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

BERLIN, June 23 (Reuters) – Germany triggered the “alarm stage” of its emergency gas plan on Thursday in response to falling Russian supplies but stopped short of allowing utilities to pass on soaring energy costs to customers in Europe’s largest economy.

The measure is the latest escalation in a standoff between Europe and Moscow since the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has exposed the bloc’s dependence on Russian gas supplies and sparked a frantic search for alternative energy sources.

The step is a largely symbolic signal to companies and households but marks a major shift for Germany, which cultivated strong energy ties with Moscow stretching back to the Cold War.

Lower gas flows sparked warnings this week that Germany could fall into recession if Russian supplies halted altogether. A survey on Thursday showed the economy losing momentum in the second quarter. read more

“We must not fool ourselves: The cut in gas supplies is an economic attack on us by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.

Gas rationing would hopefully be avoided but cannot be ruled out, Habeck said:

“From now on, gas is a scarce commodity in Germany … We are therefore now obliged to reduce gas consumption, now already in summer.”

Russia has denied the supply cuts were deliberate, with state supplier Gazprom (GAZP.MM) blaming a delay in the return of serviced equipment caused by Western sanctions. The Kremlin on Thursday said Russia “strictly fulfils all its obligations” to Europe.

The step is a largely symbolic signal to companies and households but marks a major shift for Germany, which cultivated strong energy ties with Moscow stretching back to the Cold War.

Lower gas flows sparked warnings this week that Germany could fall into recession if Russian supplies halted altogether. A survey on Thursday showed the economy losing momentum in the second quarter.

“We must not fool ourselves: The cut in gas supplies is an economic attack on us by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.

Gas rationing would hopefully be avoided but cannot be ruled out, Habeck said:

“From now on, gas is a scarce commodity in Germany … We are therefore now obliged to reduce gas consumption, now already in summer.”

Russia has denied the supply cuts were deliberate, with state supplier Gazprom (GAZP.MM) blaming a delay in the return of serviced equipment caused by Western sanctions. The Kremlin on Thursday said Russia “strictly fulfils all its obligations” to Europe.

Berlin will provide a 15 billion euro ($15.76 billion) credit line to fill gas storage and launch a gas auction model this summer to encourage industrial users to save gas.

The second “alarm stage” of a three-stage emergency plan means authorities see a high risk of long-term supply shortages. It includes a clause allowing utilities to immediately pass on high prices to industry and households.

Habeck said Germany was not at that point, but the clause might get triggered if the supply squeeze and price gains persisted, pushing power companies deeper into the red.

“If this minus becomes so big that the companies can’t bear it any more and they fall down, the whole market threatens to fall down at some point – so a Lehman Brothers effect in the energy system,” he said, referring to the U.S. investment bank’s 2008 collapse that rippled through global financial markets.

Local utility association VKU asked the government to protect consumers with subsidies or risk utilities going bust because of low-income retail customers defaulting on payments.

The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Mueller, believed it was possible for consumer prices for gas to triple.

“If you extrapolate it, it depends a lot on how you heat, how your building is built, but it can triple the previous gas bill,” he told RTL/ntv broadcasters.

The move to Phase 2 had been anticipated since Gazprom cut flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline across the Baltic Sea to just 40% of capacity last week.

Data released on Thursday showed Germany has imported 22% less natural gas in the first four months of 2022 but the cost surged 170% over the same period.

Facing dwindling deliveries from main supplier Russia, Germany has since late March been at Phase 1, which includes stricter monitoring of daily flows and a focus on filling gas storage facilities.

“The declaration of the alarm stage does not immediately change the fundamental status quo,” German energy provider E.ON (EONGn.DE) said. It was important, though, that the government was preparing and taking steps to stabilize markets and gas supply, it said an emailed statement to Reuters. read more

RISK OF FULL DISRUPTION
In the second stage, the market is still able to function without the need for state intervention that would kick in the final emergency stage.

Nord Stream 1 is due to undergo maintenance on July 11-21 when flows will stop. Hanns Koenig of consultancy Aurora Energy Services in Berlin said Gazprom might find reasons to drag out the process.

“Extended maintenance of Nord Stream 1 would further tighten the market and make it harder to fill gas storage until winter. This is of course in Russia’s strategic interest.”

Russia may cut off gas to Europe entirely to bolster its political leverage, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Wednesday, urging Europe to prepare now.

Russian gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream 1 and through Ukraine were stable on Thursday, while reverse flows on the Yamal pipeline edged up, operator data showed.

Dutch wholesale gas prices, the European benchmark, rose as much as 8% on Thursday.

Several countries have outlined measures to withstand a supply squeeze and avert winter energy shortages and an inflation spike that could test Europe’s resolve to maintain sanctions on Russia.

Supply cuts have driven German companies to contemplate painful production cuts and resorting to polluting energy sources previously considered unthinkable. read more

The European Union and Norway unveiled a deal on Thursday allowing the bloc to tap more gas from western Europe’s biggest producer.

The EU also signaled a temporary return to coal to plug the gap after calling Moscow’s gas supply cuts “rogue moves.”

Its climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said 10 of the EU’s 27 member countries have issued an “early warning” on gas supply – the first of three crisis levels.

“The risk of full gas disruption is now more real than ever before,” he said.

Reporting by Holger Hansen, Christoph Steitz, Christian Kraemer, Vera Eckert, Tom Sims, Marwa Rashad, Kate Abnett, Nora Buli, Tom Käckenhoff, Paul Carrel, Miranda Murray and Riham Alkousaa; writing by Matthias Williams Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Elaine Hardcastle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-enter-phase-2-emergency-gas-plan-says-source-2022-06-23/

The post Germany triggers gas alarm stage, accuses Russia of ‘economic attack’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Scholz, in an interview broadcast Monday on ZDF public television, said Russian President Vladimir Putin had miscalculated if he had anticipated he might be able to gain territory from Ukraine, declare an end to hostilities, and see Western countries drop sanctions.

“He didn’t think his entire Ukraine operation through,” Scholz said. “He didn’t think Ukraine would resist like that. He didn’t think we would support them to hold out for so long. … We won’t withdraw the sanctions unless he reaches an agreement with Ukraine, and he won’t get that with a dictated peace.”

He also said Germany would not accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea. “That was a breach of international law … that remains true,” he said.

Scholz added that he had no plans to visit Kyiv after a planned trip by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was dropped due to Ukraine’s objections.

Scholz rejected criticism that he was at first too hesitant to send Ukraine heavy weapons, followed by criticism from pacifists after Germany last week announced the delivery of “Gepard” anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.

“There’s no point in doing something just because someone is shouting or not doing something because someone is shouting,” Scholz said, adding that protecting the country and keeping peace was his duty as chancellor.

Scholz is under pressure both at home and abroad to supply Ukraine with heavy arms such as tanks and howitzers and support an immediate EU embargo on Russian energy imports to strip Putin of hard currency that helps him finance the war.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt and Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sanctions-not-lifted-until-russia-183608585.html

The post Sanctions will not be lifted until Russia signs peace deal with Ukraine -Germany’s Scholz first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Faeser told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung this week that since the end of February 308 anti-Russian offences were recorded by police, including 15 acts of violence.

“Offences against Russians and Russian facilities are on the rise,” she said.

Some 250,000 Russia-born migrants and 150,000 people born in Ukraine lived in Germany before President Vladmir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, which has prompted more than 300,000 Ukrainians to flee to Germany.

Russia calls its actions a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing and “denazifying” its neighbour. read more

Attacks against Ukrainians have also increased, Faeser said, with 109 offences recorded since the end of February, including 13 acts of violence like bodily harm. Most offences were property damage, insults and verbal threats.

“This conflict should not be allowed to creep into our society,” Faeser said. “We have to remind people that this is Putin’s criminal war. It is not the war of people with Russian roots who live here in Germany.”

Writing by Joseph Nasr, editing by Ed Osmond

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-reports-rise-attacks-against-russian-ukrainian-migrants-2022-04-05/?rpc=401&

The post Germany reports rise in attacks against Russian, Ukrainian migrants first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

I watched and held my breath with thousands of others on that heady night in November 1989, when one brave young man dared to jump off the wall into what had been “no man’s land”.

Days earlier he would have been shot, joining all those who had paid with their lives for daring to try to bridge the gap between East and West. Not on the night the wall fell. He held out a flower to a bewildered-looking East German soldier who, after a pause that seemed to last a lifetime, held out his hand and accepted the gesture of peace. The crowd lining the wall cheered wildly.

Mr. Scholz announced his country would now offer real military aid to Ukraine.

A few weeks before, his government had been mocked for its offer of 5,000 helmets to equip the Ukrainian army. The head of the German navy had to resign after he observed that all Mr. Putin wanted was respect and that he probably deserved it.

The German chancellor has now pledged to spend more – €100bn (£84bn) more – on defence. What that means is that this country will soon become the biggest military power in Europe and the third biggest in the world – behind only China and the United States.

Not so very long ago, that prospect would have been greeted with fear abroad and protests at home.

As a young man – a member of what he calls “the 1989 generation” – Nils Schmid studied in Ukraine in what was then part of the Soviet Union. These days, he is a German MP and foreign affairs spokesman for the governing Social Democrats. He told me he and his fellow countrymen and women now had to accept that the “iron curtain” which divided Europe had simply moved.

Once it had stood a few hundred yards from his office. Now, long after the fall of the wall, it is on the border between Nato countries – whose defence is guaranteed by the US – and those who look to Moscow.

Opposite his office stands the vast Russia embassy – in what used to be East Berlin. It is now protected by police and there are barricades decorated with anti-war posters. A blanket lies on the ground and is filled with soft toys. The message to passers by is that it could be your children dying in Ukraine.

There, I met Michael – a biker from the Black Forest in south-west Germany. He was recording a video next to his Yamaha, which he had re-painted in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. He had ridden for eight hours carrying a folder bulging with 600 messages to Vladimir Putin – from friends, neighbours and colleagues calling on the Russian president to stop the war.

The embassy staff had refused to accept it. Michael had come to realise that talking to Russia (what used to be called detente) was not enough. Germany now had to be prepared to confront Moscow.

What that means is the children of that 1989 generation will not enjoy the same freedoms as their parents. They will not grow up believing that wars are what happened in the past. Indeed a recent poll showed that seven in 10 Germans fear the spread of this war.

And no wonder. The refugees driven from their homes by this conflict are pouring off trains into Berlin’s stations at a rate of, some say, 10,000 a day.

This war is re-shaping how Europe’s most powerful country thinks. That will have dramatic consequences which are only just beginning to be thought through.

You have be almost 40 years old to remember the day when the wall fell back in November 1989. These days of February and March 2022 are turning out to be just as consequential.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60743342

The post Ukraine: Nick Robinson on how Germany is reversing decades of closer ties with Russia first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Berlin, February 4th, 2022 (The Berlin Spectator) — At the Pentagon in Arlington (Virginia), a spokesman just accused Russia of being in the process of producing a fake video which included an invented Ukrainian attack on Russia, as a pretext for war. Whatever this approach may remind Germans of, one thing is certain: Nobody is surprised Moscow resorts to cheap propaganda. But the problems it may create could be huge.

Second Chancellor

Even before Moscow massed soldiers and tanks along its borders with Ukraine for the second time since 2014, there were issues. One of them was, and still is, the Tiergarten murder case. The next issue was North Stream II, since the German-Russian pipeline project led to arguments with the Americans and within Berlin. This debate was not only fought out between party lines. For instance, former Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted North Stream II to be put into service, no matter what her friends in the District of Columbia said. Other German conservatives were not so sure. Now, in this volatile situation, North Stream II is a figure on the chess board.

This leads us to the next problem especially the main government party, the center-left SPD, is confronted with. Earlier this week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, was asked why two of the SPD’s Chancellors were sending out very different messages on Russia. Scholz told ARD television there was one Chancellor only. This is a matter of definition.

Undermined Efforts

Today’s Chancellor Scholz keeps on condemning Russia’s dangerous military provocation and says if Moscow attacked Ukraine again, it would “have to pay a very high price”. He has repeated this sentence dozens of times in front of countless TV cameras. At the same time, he and his Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Greens keep on stressing there only was a diplomatic solution to the crisis. This is the next problem, which we will get to later. The second Chancellor the interviewer meant is Gerhard Schröder, one of Scholz’ predecessors.

Schröder, who headed a ‘red-green coalition’ from 1998 to 2005, is Vladimir Putin’s friend, and chairman of the supervisory boards at Nord Stream AG, the company behind North Stream II, and Rosneft, a Russian natural gas cooperation. The fact that a former Chancellor works for those companies and always sides with Moscow has been an issue before. Now, Gerhard Schröder is being accused of undermining the SPD’s efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis, by spreading Russian propaganda about “saber-rattling” Ukraine was responsible for.

Broadcasting License

Germany’s insistence on a diplomatic solution is another aspect that is being criticized. Of course, the Berlin government’s hopes for the prevention of another war are honorable. On the other hand, ruling out non-diplomatic approaches probably made the entire Kremlin laugh. The same applies to Germany’s announcement according to which it will send 5,000 soldier’s helmets to Kiev. There are even Green politicians who believe the Federal Republic should look into sending weapons instead, or at least not rule it out.

No, Berlin is not running out of problems connected to Ukraine and Russia. Apart from Corona, this is the issue the new government in Berlin has been dealing with most. ZAK, the authority responsible for media, banned RT Deutsch TV, the German version of Putin’s propaganda channel RT, from broadcasting in Germany because it does not have a license. RT invokes a permission it got in Belgrade. But Serbia is neither part of the European Union nor does it have any say in regard to broadcasting rights for TV programs in Germany.

Russian Revenge

It did not take long until Russia reacted by announcing it would close down the office of Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international channel, in Moscow. There is a difference like day and night: Deutsche Welle has a valid license. At least it did. Also, it is an independent channel, as opposed to RT, which is being controlled by the Kremlin. Peter Limbourg, DW’s Director, said Moscow was overreacting. He vowed to intensify the reporting in spite of the decision.

Of course, Moscow sees the whole thing in a different light. Even though the Berlin government is not behind the decision to shut down RT Deutsch TV, Putin’s spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Germany had attacked freedom of speech. Russia’s Foreign Ministry even wants to make sure DW will be declared a “foreign agent”.

Victim Blaming

The way Russia is distorting the facts is embarrassing, but also dangerous. Earlier this week, Moscow’s Ambassador to Germany Sergey Netchayev told n-tv NATO was “vigorously trying to open up Ukraine militarily and technically”.

Victim blaming and the kind of propaganda the Russians rehearsed during the Cold War are the strategy Putin’s Russia has chosen to justify its military buildup. Instead of trying to find some kind of a face-saving solution and finally deescalating the situation, the autocrat in the Kreml seems to be enjoying his dangerous game and the worldwide attention it gives him.

Source: https://berlinspectator.com/2022/02/04/germany-the-russia-issue-dw-rt-and-schroder-5/

The post Germany’s Issues with Russia are Piling Up first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met in Washington on Wednesday to discuss various issues between the two countries. One critical issue was that of the increase of Russian troops along the border of its former Soviet neighbor Ukraine. The build-up is said to be caused by Ukraine’s attempts to join NATO, which the U.S. and Germany are both members of. The two representatives agreed that this military presence can be dangerous.

“Both Germany and the United States see Russia’s actions toward Ukraine as an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe,” said Blinken. “We condemn Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, as well as Russia’s increasingly harsh rhetoric as it continues to push the false narrative that Ukraine seeks to provoke them. That’s a little bit like the fox saying it had no choice but to attack the henhouse because somehow the hens presented a threat.”

Without using analogies like her American counterpart, Baerbock agreed that Russia’s actions are a form of intimidation.

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“We jointly reiterated that Russian actions and activities come with a clear price tag,” she explained, “and a renewed violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would have severe consequences.”

The Blinken-Baerbock meeting followed a telephone call last week between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a conversation Sunday between Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a group discussion Tuesday among Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterparts from the five Nordic nations.

It also preceded a flurry of meetings involving NATO foreign ministers, senior U.S. and Russian officials, the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe set for next week.

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“The real question is whether Russia is serious about diplomacy, serious about de-escalation,” Blinken said. “Let’s see where this goes over the next weeks.”

Western officials have hinted at any number of economically crippling sanctions that could be imposed should Russia act. Those include near-total cutoff from the international financial system and steps toward greater NATO integration with non-allied European nations.

But, there have been very few specifics and Blinken again declined to discuss them. “I’m not going to telegraph them publicly, but I can tell you with great confidence that a tremendous amount of work has been done already. There is very strong coordination and collaboration and very strong agreement on measures that would be taken in the event of renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

As the Biden administration moves to build international consensus around a set of possible punitive measures, Germany is clearly the linchpin. Securing the support of Europe’s biggest economy will be key to both messaging and implementation of whatever is decided.

Baerbock is the top diplomat in the first German government in 16 years not headed by Angela Merkel. She has struck a tougher tone on Russia than her predecessor. But Germany has adopted a less confrontational stance toward Russia compared with many other European nations.

Germany’s business ties with Russia could provide leverage, but they could also prove a hindrance for forging a united front toward Moscow. Despite strong criticism from the U.S., the center-left government of new Chancellor Olaf Scholz hasn’t shown itself willing to block the start of natural gas deliveries through a newly built pipeline linking Russia and Germany—a move that would hurt both countries.

Under Merkel, Germany persuaded the Biden administration last year not to impose sanctions on the company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which many believe will leave Europe beholden to Russia for energy and Ukraine more vulnerable.

Blinken noted that the pipeline, while completed, has yet to go into operation and said gas flows through it would be unlikely if Russia invades Ukraine.

“If Russia renews its aggression toward Ukraine, it would certainly be difficult to see gas flowing through it in the future,” he said. This actually gives the EU leverage over Russia, he said, rather than the other way around.

Baerbock sidestepped the question of whether the pipeline would be operationalized in the event of a Russian intervention. However, she said the new German government would abide by an agreement signed last summer with Washington that says Russia will not be allowed to use energy as a political weapon against Europe.

“We agreed on this, together with our European partners, that we would take effective measures together with our European partners, should Russia use energy as a weapon or should it continue its aggressive acts against Ukraine,” Baerbock said.

Blinken did not directly address her response but said the U.S. would press ahead with joint measures on the pipeline if necessary.

“We will continue to work in a way that I hope can be effective in dealing with energy issues and challenges, including those posed in our judgment by Nord Stream 2, and also in a way that preserves what is so vital, and that is strong trans-Atlantic solidarity. That is the most effective response and most effective tool that we have in countering Russian aggression,” he said.

Nord Stream 2 is a topic of major concern in Washington, and Congress is expected to take up two bills related to it and other Russia sanctions next week, just as the meetings in Europe are happening. A GOP bill would automatically impose Nord Stream sanctions, while a Democratic version would impose a wider range of penalties on Russia should it invade Ukraine.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington have blamed Nord Stream 2 for increasing Russia’s leverage over Germany and limiting what Berlin would be willing to do in response to a new invasion. Germany, like much of the European Union, is heavily reliant on Russian natural gas.

Blinken said the U.S. has delivered weapons to Ukraine and would continue to do so in the event of a further Russian military assault on the country.

Echoing concerns by some in Germany that this could stoke military tensions with Russia, Baerbock said “we have a different position on arms supply to Ukraine,” but noted that Berlin has provided a military hospital to the Ukrainian army and support in treating wounded soldiers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/us-germany-say-russia-military-buildup-ukraine-poses-immediate-urgent-challenge-1666076

The post U.S., Germany Say Russia Military Buildup at Ukraine Poses ‘Immediate and Urgent Challenge’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Germany expresses concern over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine / Photo from UNIAN

Representative of the German Federal Government Ulrike Demmer has said her country was concerned over the movement of Russian troops toward the Ukrainian border.

“As you know, NATO, the EU, and many partners have recently expressed concern over the expansion of Russia’s military presence. The German government shares this concern and informed Moscow about it,” she said in German at a briefing broadcast on YouTube.

Russian troops amassed along Ukraine’s borders

On March 30, 2021, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak said Russia had deployed 28 battalion tactical groups along the state border of Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territories. It is also said to be planning to bring up to 25 battalion tactical groups under the guise of preparing for military drills. Such actions pose a threat to Ukraine’s military security.

–The U.S. Department of Defense said it was “aware of Russian troop movements” on Ukraine’s borders and was concerned about recent escalations of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.

–On April 1, 2021, the Kremlin commented on the movement of Russian troops near Ukraine’s borders, saying this should not cause “any concern” to anyone.

–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Moscow is trying to put pressure on Kyiv by amassing its military forces along the Russian-Ukrainian border. At the same time, he assures Ukraine is ready to counter any provocation and continues to defend in the negotiations the position of maintaining a more effective ceasefire in Donbas.

–The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate does not rule out that enemy forces may try to go for an incursion and deploy their troops deeper into the territory of Ukraine. According to intelligence reports, Russia is building up its military presence near the Ukrainian borders and is completing the preparation of a set of measures aimed at forcing Ukraine into a military response.

–On April 1, 2021, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran had a phone call on the initiative of the American side. Austin condemned the recent aggressive and provocative actions by Russia in eastern Ukraine and assured his counterpart of U.S. readiness to support Ukraine in the context of Russia’s ongoing aggression in Donbas and Crimea.

–In turn, the Kremlin vowed “additional measures” if the U.S. troops are deployed on the territory of Ukraine.

–U.S. President Joe Biden in his first call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 2, 2021, affirmed the U.S. “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression” in Donbas and Crimea.

Translation: Kanaryan Lyudmila

Source: https://www.unian.info/politics/escalation-in-donbas-germany-expresses-concern-over-russia-s-military-buildup-near-ukraine-11380162.html

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