Saturday, July 10, 2010

LUBMIN, GERMANY: GEOPOLITICAL PIVOT



clipped from: niqnaq.wordpress.com



German Chancellors disappear who deviate from Washington agenda. Schroeder was first in opposition to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, and second, more serious strategically negotiations with Putin for new gas pipeline bypassing Poland.

Today, Nord Stream has reached Mecklenburg-Vorpommern town of Lubmin, a geopolitical pivot for Europe and Russia. Bill Clinton demanded Schroeder, if elected, support a US-NATO war against Serbia in 1999.

By 2005, Bush turned its attention to a successor. Schroeder's last act was to approve Nord Stream from Vyborg to Lubmin. Upon his defeat, he became chairman of Nord Stream AG, a joint venture between state-owned Gazprom and E.ON-Ruhrgas and BASF-Wintershall. He alsoaccused Georgia of initiating the 2008 war against South Ossetia.

In 2006, Poland’s For. Min. Sikorsk compared Nord Stream to the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact. The US has used Poland as a wedge to block Russian-German economic and political cooperation. This month, Nord Stream's first pipeline reached Lubmin. The second string will be completed later this month and begins operation in late 2011. It will be the world’s biggest subsea route through Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, avoiding Poland and the three Baltic States.

From Lubmin it will go through Saxony to the Czech border. From there, Other routes to Holland, France and the UK, France’s GDF Suez bought a 9% share, Holland's Nederlandse Gasunie has 9%. It has broad EU support.

a major geopolitical accomplishment with strong US opposition. Nord long-term agreements is with Denmark, the UK, France, Netherlands and Belgium as well as Germany.

Gazprom is advancing South Stream from Russia under Black Sea to Bulgaria and to Italy. South Stream, bypassing Ukraine. from the Soviet era pipelines transited Ukraine. in Jan 2005 “Orange Revolution” brought pro-NATO regime to power. Recent elections has taken a more neutral stance. The offshore part of South Stream is jointly between Gazprom and Italy’s ENI. From there, pre-existing pipelines through Bulgaria will be used.

Washington is applying major pressure on EU countries and Turkey to build Nabucco. To date, little backing in the EU and insufficient gas to fill it.

Completion of the gas line will result in a major geopolitical bond between EU, Central Europe and Russia and a geopolitical nightmare for the US.

US policy since WW2 has been to dominate, first by fanning the Cold War, and then after 1990 by pushing NATO eastwards towards Europe. Europe turning east has been a major defeat for the “sole Superpower”.

Lubmin is now a major geopolitical pivot

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