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BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
In a combative start to his visit to NATO, Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a pipeline project makes Germany "totally controlled "and be" Russian prisoner "" The US president also criticized defense spending by members of the military alliance at the beginning of what should be a summit that will include a list of demands to US allies
In a tense exchange of statements with the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, Trump, opposed the fact that the United States must protect Germany while This European nation concludes agreements with Russia.
"I must say that I think it is sad that Germany is making a big oil and gas deal with Russia, where we are supposed to protect Russia "said the US president at a breakfast with Stoltenberg, his first act after landing in Brussels. "We are supposed to protect them from Russia, but they are paying billions of dollars to Russia and I think that's very inappropriate."
The leader seemed to refer to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will carry gas from the ground. Russian on the northeastern German coast, in the Baltic Sea pbading through countries of Eastern Europe such as Poland and Ukraine and doubling the amount of gas that the Russia can send directly to Germany
Members of the European Union are opposing this huge submarine pipeline, claiming it could give Moscow greater influence over Western Europe.
"Germany, as far as I am concerned, is a prisoner from Russia," Trump said.
Stoltenberg responded by saying that NATO members have always been able to work together despite their differences. "I think the two world wars and the cold war have taught us that we are stronger together than we are separated," he told Trump trying to calm the tension.
Later, Trump tweeted a video of the conversation
Arriving at the summit of NATO in Brussels, Merkel defended the independence of his country and reminded that she grew up in communist Germany.
Without mentioning directly the US President, she told reporters: I myself have lived part of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union and I am very happy that today we are all united in freedom as the Federal Republic of Germany and we can say that we can determine our own policies and make our own decisions. good. "
The dramatic exchange between the two leaders set the tone for what was to be a tense day of meetings with the leaders of the military alliance." Trump should continue to press his allies on military spending during the summit, which comes at a time of particular fragility in relations between Trump and those who have always been Washington's closest allies.
Something unusual for an American president. Trump himself even was accused of being too petulant towards Russia and rejected the conclusions of his own security agencies that Russia tried to meddle in the 2016 presidential election by favoring it.
United States, Trump's statements They caused astonishment Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement claiming that the series of "blatant insults and slander ies against one of America's most powerful allies "is" a shame. "
" Your behavior this morning is another indication It is disturbing that the President is more faithful to President Putin than 39 to our NATO allies, "the statement added.
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch also said, "I do not agree with that, they are a very strong city."
Senator Angus King, independent of Maine, told CNN that Trump's complaints against NATO "look like turning a family dispute into a divorce process." He explained that the agreement on the pipeline was signed in 2002 "when everyone saw Russia as something good thing. "
" It's not the moment "to fight with the allied countries, he said. reunited later. In front of the cameras, both were cordial one to the other.
At the end of the meeting, Trump told reporters that the two leaders had "a very, very good relationship." He said that he congratulated Merkel for his "huge success." When asked when they were talking about the pipeline, he replied "yes", but did not specify.
Merkel, meanwhile, said the two countries are "very good partners" and "we hope to continue cooperating".
Trump also met with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he disagreed with Trump's comments on Germany.
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