Trump: Germany is controlled by Russia

OIL AND GAS DEAL ‘INAPPROPRIATE’

DONALD TRUMP has launched a blistering attack on Germany, denouncing it as a “captive” of Russia, as he ramped up demands for Nato allies to pay more for their collective defence.

Arriving in Brussels for a two-day alliance summit, the US president, right, said it was “totally inappropriate” that Germany was paying billions of dollars to Russia for oil and gas while spending little more than 1% of its GDP on defence.

He said the deal to build a new pipeline meant Germany was now “totally controlled” by Moscow.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hit back, saying that having experienced life in Soviet-controlled former East Germany, she was glad they could now “determine our own policies and make our own decisions”. The barbed exchanges set the stage for another potentially stormy international summit after last month’s G7 meeting in Quebec ended in angry recriminations, leading some to question US support for the postwar international order. The president launched his tirade against Germany during a meeting yesterday ahead of the main summit with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.