The United States and Russia are fighting over the current situation in Russia and Ukraine, and when Biden insists that Putin will invade Ukraine, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo jumps out. In an interview, Pompeo not only criticized U.S. President Joe Biden's handling of the Ukraine crisis, he also gave his own advice, saying that the United States should "crush Russia" by helping to end Europe's dependence on gas supplies to its eastern neighbor, and how to end "dependence"? Pompeo said that selling energy sources such as natural gas in the United States to Europe means making Europe dependent on the United States.
Biden, who hosted a conference call with NATO allies on Friday, remains tense and the U.S. government has repeatedly warned that an invasion of Ukraine could be imminent. In an interview, Pompeo told Fox News' Sean Hannity that U.S. policies have enabled Russia to export oil and gas, strengthened the Russian economy and hurt the United States.
Pompeo, who served in the Trump administration, told Sean Hannity, "Throughout the 14 months of this administration, we have shown weakness toward the Russians. The former secretary also referred to a nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia, as well as the lifting of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. "Then we did the worst thing, we shut down U.S. gas and crude oil production so that Vladimir Putin could get $93 or $100 a barrel of crude oil exported from his country," Pompeo said. "We messed up his economy, but we hurt our economy and lost jobs in the United States." ”
Pompeo was referring to President Biden's executive order in January 2021 suspending new leases of oil and gas on public lands and waters, and that the administration is working to reform leasing projects. In response to this issue, Hannity said that the United States should provide energy to western European allies, pointing to the United States' natural gas, oil and coal, which Pompeo readily agrees with.
"We have cheap, affordable energy at home, and we have the ability to deliver that energy to our European friends and allies at a very low cost, and we should use that to beat the Russians," Pompeo said. ”
In this regard, the outside world ridiculed and ridiculed, Pompeo's move is obviously a villain mentality, you are afraid that Europe depends on Russia, how can you not worry that Europe will rely on the United States?
It is reported that Russia is currently the largest supplier of natural gas in Europe. Late last year, amid strong global demand for natural gas and oil, there were concerns about the continent's energy supply. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser on energy security at the State Department, warned in October that the Russian government could use natural gas as a political weapon. "I think if Russia does have a supply of gas but chooses not to supply it, and Russia will only do so if Europe agrees to other completely unrelated demands, then we are close to that line," he said. ”
Pompeo also criticized talks being held in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Russia was one of several countries participating in the talks, and a deal could involve lifting sanctions that would lead to a sharp reduction in Iran's oil exports, but it's unclear when a deal will be reached. Speaking of the talks, Pompeo said, "It's a huge sign of weakness, a failure of U.S. foreign policy in the sense of basic deterrence that Reagan and we've had for the last four years." ”
The former secretary also said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "will eat our secretary of state (Blinken)'s lunch if we don't show the determination, ability and willingness of the United States to do the right thing for our friends." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov next week.