RandomGuy
09-22-2008, 12:48 PM
Der Spiegel
A US diplomat has denounced the controversial Baltic natural gas pipeline as “a special arrangement between Germany and Russia.” His remarks have ruffled feathers in Berlin and highlighted growing US-German tensions over relations with Russia.
At the end of the week before last, the Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet published an op-ed article by the ambassador that set down some unmistakable ground rules. According to Wood, when the Swedish government evaluates the proposed Baltic natural gas pipeline project over the coming months, it should examine more than just environmental aspects. He wrote that the pipeline represents “a special arrangement between Germany and Russia” that “bypasses the Baltic States and Poland,” which are “potential customers.” Wood calls for the EU to speak “with a single voice to counteract the power of Russia’s energy weapon.”
The article alarmed the German government. Rüdiger von Fritsch, head of economic affairs at the German Foreign Ministry, promptly called up the American embassy in Berlin and demanded an explanation. Von Fritsch said the German government was “annoyed” by this highly “unusual” approach.
...
the incident has created an air of suspicion. “The Americans are no longer pursuing their opposition to the pipeline under the table, but publicly,” complained Eggert Voscherau, who represents German chemical giant BASF on the advisory board of the pipeline operator Nord Stream. Martin Schulz, the leader of the Social Democrat parliamentary group in the European Parliament, even sees the Wood article as a “helpful” indicator of “what the Americans aim to do, namely destabilize Europe.”
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Full article here at english language version of Der Spiegel. (http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,579677,00.html)
A US diplomat has denounced the controversial Baltic natural gas pipeline as “a special arrangement between Germany and Russia.” His remarks have ruffled feathers in Berlin and highlighted growing US-German tensions over relations with Russia.
At the end of the week before last, the Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet published an op-ed article by the ambassador that set down some unmistakable ground rules. According to Wood, when the Swedish government evaluates the proposed Baltic natural gas pipeline project over the coming months, it should examine more than just environmental aspects. He wrote that the pipeline represents “a special arrangement between Germany and Russia” that “bypasses the Baltic States and Poland,” which are “potential customers.” Wood calls for the EU to speak “with a single voice to counteract the power of Russia’s energy weapon.”
The article alarmed the German government. Rüdiger von Fritsch, head of economic affairs at the German Foreign Ministry, promptly called up the American embassy in Berlin and demanded an explanation. Von Fritsch said the German government was “annoyed” by this highly “unusual” approach.
...
the incident has created an air of suspicion. “The Americans are no longer pursuing their opposition to the pipeline under the table, but publicly,” complained Eggert Voscherau, who represents German chemical giant BASF on the advisory board of the pipeline operator Nord Stream. Martin Schulz, the leader of the Social Democrat parliamentary group in the European Parliament, even sees the Wood article as a “helpful” indicator of “what the Americans aim to do, namely destabilize Europe.”
...
Full article here at english language version of Der Spiegel. (http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,579677,00.html)