Trump threatens to knock the table over, urging NATO to take action against China, and Europe is now too afraid to even speak out.
US President Trump said that he is preparing to impose strict sanctions on Russia, and even charge an additional 50% to 100% fee on Chinese goods. But his precondition is that all NATO member states must unanimously agree to completely stop importing oil from Russia and take the same sanction measures.
This statement seems like it's about knocking the table over, but in reality, it's making Europe take the lead, which is just empty posturing.
In fact, there are serious divisions within Europe regarding the energy issue.
Germany and France have already reduced their reliance on Russian energy, but Hungary and Slovakia still buy Russian oil through pipelines, and Turkey is the third largest buyer of Russian oil.
These countries are not capable of cutting off supplies in a short time, and the so-called unanimous action by NATO is impossible.
Trump's conditions are equivalent to leaving himself a way out: if Europe does not agree, he can blame the allies, saying it's not that I don't sanction, but you are not cooperating. This is a typical political gesture, and knocking the table is just for show.
More ironically, Trump has directed his criticism at China, calling on NATO and EU member states to take action against China together.
However, EU officials believe that new sanctions will not be applied extraterritorially, meaning they will not rashly take actions against China because of America's demands. For China, a key market, Europe dares not even speak out, let alone take any practical actions.
Overall, the US and Europe are now passing the buck to each other. The EU believes that Trump is not firm enough towards Russia, while Trump proposed a tough plan, but made the EU and NATO go first - you say I'm not hard, you try to go first.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843209641929740/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.