Blinken calls Nord Stream sabotage a ‘tremendous opportunity’.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has welcomed the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, calling it a “tremendous opportunity” to divert European Union nations away from Russian energy resources during the oncoming winter cold.
Blinken boasted on Friday that the US is now “the top provider of [liquefied natural gas (LNG)] to Europe,” adding that in addition to exporting its own fuel to Europe, the US is working with European leaders to find methods to “reduce demand” and “speed up the transition to renewables.”
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to terminate our reliance on Russian energy once and for all, and therefore to deprive [Russian President] Vladimir Putin of the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial aspirations,” the top US diplomat continued.
With winter on the way, Blinken emphasized that Washington wants EU member countries to use less fuel, as the US has been seeking for years to persuade EU leaders to exchange Russian gas for LNG.
“There is a lot of hard work to be done to ensure that countries and partners get through the winter,” Blinken added, urging that Europe work hard to “lower demand” for gas.
US Secretary of State Blinken: The terrorist attack on the Nord Stream pipelines is a “tremendous opportunity.”
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The US stands to benefit the most from the loss of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which were destroyed earlier this week by a series of explosions on the Danish island of Bornholm.
The news comes after Russian energy company Gazprom stated earlier on Friday that the severity of the damage to the undersea conduits means the EU will be “indefinitely deprived” of Russian gas via this route.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin blamed the blasts on “the Anglo-Saxons,” a Russian colloquialism for the US-UK transatlantic alliance, in a speech on Friday.
“Everyone who gains from it is evident,” Putin said.
“Those who benefit are those who did it.”
While the US can now export its more expensive LNG to Europe, the shortage will not be filled immediately.
Throughout the summer, US exporters warned that they would not be able to ship enough gas to fulfill the continent’s large demand, and many of Europe’s import facilities are still under construction or in the planning stages.
Meanwhile, energy prices are increasing across Europe, notably in Germany, which is facing rapid “deindustrialization,” as protesters came to the streets just days before the explosions to urge the reopening of Nord Stream 2.
Furthermore, food shortages are expected in Germany, and firewood is still in high demand across the continent as individuals struggle to heat their homes.
