Ted Cruz - lift high the torch

Putin, Biden - hide from the light

Republican senator Ted Cruz is a champion of Ukraine and worldwide democracy right now, making the administration and most Democrats look feckless in comparison.

Cruz forced Democrats to call a vote to reinstate tough Nord-Stream 2 sanctions. He did this by stalling dozens of diplomatic and senior political appointments until the other party agreed to the vote.

Cruz acted while others found reasons to ignore the danger Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline* poses to Ukraine and western democracy.

Sure, he also saw an opportunity to embarrass the Democrats. But, if the Democrats had been true to their alleged principles, Cruz wouldn’t have had the opportunity. 

“Over a year ago, in December of 2019,” said Cruz on the Senate floor in August “…the full Congress passed legislation imposing strong sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.” In those waning days of the Trump administration the Democrats had the courage to upheld their principles when it suited them.

But, within a few months the new Biden administration, despite the best advice from the current and past-serving diplomatic corp, waived the sanctions. It was a favor, the administration said, to German chancellor Angela Merkel and to Germany - even though Merkel only had a few weeks left in power and not all Germans support the pipeline. The German Green Party, for example, utterly opposes it. It was a surprise decision that, if it had been made by President Trump, would have triggered cries of “Putin’s puppet.”

Said Cruz,“Waiving those sanctions, I believe, will prove to be a generational, geopolitical mistake. If we continue on the current pace set out by President Biden, Putin will complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline….”

Cruz said, "For decades, Putin and the next dictator in Russia will get billions of dollars every year from this pipeline. They will use it for military aggression, they will use it for spying on America, they will use it for attacking their enemies. Not only that, Europe will be captive to Russian natural gas. It will be subject to energy blackmail. We don't have to hypothesize this, because Putin has demonstrated his willingness to use energy blackmail on Europe going forward. This undermines the interest of Europe. It undermines the interest of America….”

Cruz is right.

*What is this pipeline and why sanction it? The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will feed natural gas directly to Europe from Russia. Existing overland pipelines cross central and eastern European countries.

Russia supplied 38% of Europe’s natural gas in 2017. The percentage was much higher in countries closer to Russia. With a direct pipeline to Europe, Russia could “weaponize” it, threatening to cut off Europe, or charging high prices. They could also weaponize their current pipelines, cutting off the heating supply to Ukraine or Poland without disrupting the flow to western Europe. This would cut off millions of dollars in transport fees Russia pays to Ukraine and other countries.

Sources:

Sen. Cruz on the Senate floor
Kyiv Independent: Deal reached in US Senate For Vote on Nord Stream 2 SanctionsPolitico: Cruz Secures Vote on Russian pipeline sanctions in deal with Schumer