"BERLIN -- Officials from Washington to London and Warsaw are asking whether Germany's heavy dependence on Russian gas, its post-World War II tendency to keep a low profile in international conflicts and its longstanding political and business links with Moscow are now making it an unreliable ally in the crisis in Ukraine.
In recent weeks, Germany has refused to join the U.S. and others in shipping defensive weapons to Ukraine and blocked North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners from giving Kyiv German weapons; its navy chief resigned after making pro-Russian remarks; and Chancellor Olaf Scholz delayed a meeting with President Biden in Washington.
Despite repeated exhortations from the White House, Mr. Scholz hasn't publicly committed to freezing a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline should Moscow march into Ukraine. And now diplomats say Berlin has been asking for an exemption in future Western sanctions against Moscow that would allow it to keep buying gas from Russia.
Highlighting the extent of the mistrust among Germany's allies, the U.K. avoided flying over German territory when it dispatched defensive weapons to Ukraine last week because London feared getting overflight permission would take too long, said British officials.
As Russia has massed troops at its border with Ukraine, Germany, which is near the front line of the confrontation that other Europeans often look to for guidance, has appeared desperate to take a back seat.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin's role in the crisis is to provide financial and diplomatic support while other NATO members should offer military aid -- a statement that raised concerns among partners about the alliance's cohesion.
"It's easy to justify one action or one policy, but when you take them altogether, you get a narrative that Germany is not being a reliable partner," a senior U.S. diplomat said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested Germany had to be talked into supporting severe sanctions aimed at deterring Russian incursion into Ukraine. Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks even dismissed Germany's stance as immoral, saying it was sowing division in Europe. And after Berlin sent 5,000 secondhand helmets to help Ukraine brace for an invasion, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko in an interview with the German tabloid Bild asked what Berlin would be sending next: "pillows?"
Most critics agree that Germany's defense policy and its longstanding bond with Russia haven't changed, but said that Berlin's ambivalence is threatening its role in the Western alliance at a time of rising tension with Moscow.
Berlin's immobility in the face of Moscow's escalations -- its apparent yearning for something of a neutral or mediating position in the crisis -- is the result of decisions made decades ago by successive governments that have now converged to tie the country's hands.
John Kornblum, a former senior U.S. diplomat who served in various roles in Germany between 1964 and 2001 and has since remained in the country, says that the Biden administration, like others before it, is mistaken in thinking Germany can be talked into changing a policy that has been entrenched across the political spectrum for decades.
Today, Russia accounts for more than half of Germany's gas, and a quarter of oil imports, making Germany highly vulnerable in the current crisis, which is unfolding in early winter. It means the country -- and Europe as a whole -- would struggle to cope during the colder months if Russian gas supplies were to stop, said James Huckstepp of S&P Global Platts, which analyses energy and commodities markets. Germany could find itself scrambling for emergency shipments and even rationing the industrial use of gas, he said.
The global market doesn't have enough capacity to make up any eventual loss of Russian gas by substituting it with liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from the U.S. or the Middle East, Mr. Huckstepp said.
As a consequence, Berlin has limited scope for action against Russia.
Berlin has tried to square the circle by insisting in talks with Western counterparts that sanctions should allow a loophole for it to continue buying energy from Russia, said diplomats familiar with the negotiations." [1]
Germany has to combine excellent German quality with XXI century technology to keep Germany’s comfortable place in today’s world economy. This is expensive. Germany will not stop buying cheap energy so that Germany could have the money where Germany needs it. Smaller EU countries depend on Germany’s economy. So Germany’s position is EU position. EU is the richest market in the world. Any big moves in economy, including important economic sanctions should get EU approval, since our competition with China is becoming harsh so we all in the West depend on our cooperation.
1. World News: U.S., Allies Question Role Of Germany
Pancevski, Bojan. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 02 Feb 2022: A.8.
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