WH claims Russia ‘weaponizing energy’ amid Ukraine crisis

LUBMIN, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 08: A man wearing a hard hat walks by the central facility where the Nord Stream Baltic Sea gas pipeline reaches western Europe following the pipeline’s official inauguration on November 8, 2011 in Lubmin, Germany. The Nord Stream pipeline runs through the Baltic Sea and will supply Europe with natural gas from Russia. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:55 PM PT – Thursday, September 1, 2022

The White House continues to wage war on Russian energy as the Kremlin reportedly shuts off its Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

During a virtual call to the press on Wednesday, White House National Security Council Spokesperson, John Kirby, accused the Kremlin of weaponizing energy. This comes after Russian Energy Officials shut down its exports of gas to Germany from the Nord Stream 1 Pipeline for three-days, citing maintenance work for the pipeline.

NSC spokesperson Kirby stressed that the Biden administration has plotted a contingency plan for this situation.

“And that’s why President Biden set up a task force with the EU back in March to work on ways to increase alternate sources of natural gas to Europe, including from the United States, and to help reduce Europe’s demand for Russian energy due to increased efficiency and clean energy deployment,” Kirby said.

Expert analyses claimed that amid the West’s war on Russia, Europe is trying to fill its liquefied natural gas (LNG) reservoirs with gas from the United States, West Africa and from the Middle East. Kirby stated that the US contributes two-thirds of global exports of LNG to Europe, adding that the total increased by nearly 20-billion-cubic-meters compared to last year. Kirby also added that the Biden administration is nowhere near the level of fuel exports it wants to send to European allies.

“That said, we’re pragmatic about this and we know that there’s more work to do. So we’re going to keep looking for ways to increase gas stockpiles in Europe or to help bolster other sources of energy where it’s possible,” Kirby said. “We commend the leadership and the solidarity that Europe has shown on energy issues. And those efforts to prepare for winter have already had a positive effect.”

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled across the pond in order to shore up support for a possible price cap on Russian oil with her counterpart in the United Kingdom. She continued to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for the global increase of gas prices. She alleged that prices shot up as a result of his invasion into Ukraine. Yellen said the price cap would effectively punish Putin while cementing the ousting of Russia’s influence on Europe’s gas market.

“The price cap will advance our two key objectives,” Yellen said. “The first, of course, is reducing revenues that Putin needs to continue waging his war of aggression. And the second is maintaining a reliable supply of oil to the global market and putting downward pressure on the price of energy for people in the US, in the UK and around the world.”

I was pleased to meet with Chancellor Zahawi @nadhimzahawi today to discuss shared priorities, including a price cap on Russian oil to deny Putin revenue to fund his brutal war and put downward pressure on energy prices for consumers and businesses in the U.S., UK, and globally. pic.twitter.com/vcAswEvEuw

— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) August 31, 2022

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi, commended Yellen’s pledge. He added that it should help the West achieve its real priority of funding Ukraine’s resistance to Russia.

“On Ukraine financing, we strongly welcome what you have delivered the substantial package of over $8 billion, $8.5 billion of economic support for the Ukraine, as well as the intention to provide further support,” Zahawi said. “I met today with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank to continue to make sure we have every lever possible for that rapid disbursement of support to Ukraine over the autumn.”

In the meantime, officials from Europe’s main energy hub, Germany, said that they have enough resources to get by for the three-days Nord Stream 1 is down. However, some leaders worry the shutoff could be extended past Saturday.

Additionally, America is looking to cement its status as top LNG exporter to Europe, building off of trade relations developed amid the Ukraine crisis. Critics of the West say leaders in the US and Europe are trying to push fossil fuels out of their energy markets and opt in for globalist approved green energy alternatives. They said that the participating countries don’t have enough so-called green energy to completely ditch oil and gas. They also added that they are put in a bad position when energy exporters do shut off their spigots.

The White House plans to host the G7 leaders on Friday. There, they will discuss the implementation of a gas cap for Russia.