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| Deutsche Welle, Aug. 12, 2017. GERMANY The Russian government has sought to influence democracy in Germany through energy ties, cultural and political influence, disinformation, and cyberattacks. The German government and its Chancellor Angela Merkel are regarded as indispensable leaders in sustaining a united, democratic Europe. This has particularly been the case since the Russian military aggression into Ukraine in 2014. Nevertheless, historical business and political ties between Russia and some camps in Germany, as well as relationships forged in the energy sector, have presented opportunities for the Kremlin to attempt to meddle. A 2007 meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the latter’s summer residence in Sochi, Russia—in which Putin let his black Labrador into the room to approach Merkel, who has a fear of dogs—has been widely hailed as a sign of Putin’s cunning statecraft. 720 But Merkel’s assessment of the situation in an interview later dismissed the Russian leader’s power play I understand why he has to do this—to prove he’s a man she told a group of reporters. Hes afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this.’’ 721 Indeed, Merkel has proven to be a formidable obstacle to Putin in achieving his goals to undermine a democratic Europe, particularly in the leading diplomatic role Merkel and Germany have played in projecting a united—and firm—European response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of EU sanctions. Ten years after the infamous dog incident, Merkel held firm in a tense May 2017 meeting on EU sanctions imposed against Russia for its annexation of Crimea and support for Ukrainian separatists, and raised concerns about human rights abuses inside Russia and the Kremlin’s election meddling abroad. 722 Even before the Ukraine conflict, however, the Russian government has used energy politics as a key lever of influence in Germany. Informer chancellor Gerhard Schro¨der became the chairman of the shareholders committee of Nord Stream AG, a consortium led by Gazprom to bring Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea via two pipelines. 723 The first was inaugurated in 2011, but completion of the second, dubbed Nord Stream 2, has faced considerable obstacles from European Union members and littoral states who fear it will increase European reliance on Russian gas and undermine stability in Ukraine, which currently receives transit payments for the gas that runs through its territory VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 128 US. Diplomat Says Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Probably Won’t Be Built Radio Free Eu- rope/Radio Liberty, Nov. 29, 2017; Denmark Passes Law to Block Nord Stream 2,’’ Newsbase, Dec. 7, 2017; Statement of Dr. Constanze Stelzenmuller, The Impact of Russian Interference on Germany’s 2017 Elections Russian Intervention in European Elections, Hearing before the US. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, June 28, 2017. For more on Nord Stream 2, see Chapter 4. 725 Rosneft, Corporate Governance Board of Directors https://www.rosneft.com/governance/ board (visited Dec. 31, 2017); Geoffrey Smith, Vladimir Putin Just Gave Ex-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder A Plum Oil Job Fortune, Sept. 29, 2017. Simon Shuster, How Russian Voters Fueled the Rise of Germany’s Far-Right,’’ TIME, Sept. 25, 2017. Melanie Amann & Pavel Lokshin, German Populists Forge Ties with Russia Spiegel On- line, Apr. 27, 2016. Andrew Rettman, Illicit Russian Money Poses Threat to EU Democracy EUobserver, Apr. 21, 2017. Simon Shuster, How Russian Voters Fueled the Rise of Germany’s Far-Right,’’ TIME, Sept. 25, 2017. 730 Alina Polyakova et al., The Kremlin’s Trojan Horses, Atlantic Council, at 15 (Nov. 2016). Ben Knight, Putin Associate Opens Russia-Friendly Think Tank in Berlin Deutsche Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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