Recognizing shifting European sentiments over Vladimir Putin’s poisoning of investigative journalist Alexei Navalny, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should go to Europe and call on the European Union to cancel the Nord Stream II energy pipeline.
The Trump administration rightly opposes that Russian pipeline, recognizing that it will facilitate Putin’s energy blackmail strategy for at least the next 25 years. If completed, Nord Stream II will allow Putin to extract European political concessions in return for continued energy supplies through cold winter months. But Russia has a new problem. Following its outrageous Novichok-class nerve agent attack on Navalny, European leaders are reconsidering whether Nord Stream II should be completed.
Speaking Aug. 28, President Emmanuel Macron of France told reporters, “I don’t think the approach that we ought to have with Russia should be one of naivety, nor do I think it should be nourished by an increase in our dependence on Russia. This has always fueled my reservations about the Nord Stream II project. The German chancellor knows it.” Directly referencing the Navalny incident, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson on Monday warned that action against the pipeline hasn’t been ruled out. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party is also calling for robust action. Norbert Roettgen, a top CDU lawmaker and prospective successor to Merkel, warned that “Putin understands only one language: that of gas and money.”
It’s not just about Navalny and energy security. European concerns have been exacerbated by recently disrupted Russian intelligence operations.
The Trump administration should take advantage of this new momentum. Attempting to murder Navalny, Putin has proved that he is willing to shred international norms as he sees fit. The idea that Putin can be relied upon for the coming decades of European energy security is as ludicrous as the Kremlin’s claims that it has nothing to do with Navalny’s predicament. If the EU is at all serious in its claims to stand for the defense of human rights and the democratic rule of law, it must now act in that vein. Pompeo should make clear that if Europe is willing to stand up for these values, it will find resolute American support. And if he’s serious about countering Putin’s foreign policy, Joe Biden should endorse these actions. Biden’s support would also evince a less pro-Putin stance than his energy platform currently represents.
The U.S. government cannot take anything for granted. Albeit behind closed doors, Pompeo should make clear that President Trump is willing to pursue more coercive action, imposing sanctions on any European business that assists in Nord Stream II’s completion or validation. What has happened to Navalny is a wake-up call. It’s time for Europe to close Russia’s poisoned energy valve.
