Germany’s reaction to the explosion on the North Sea pipelines, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, demonstrated that the nation was still “occupied” and unable to act autonomously decades after it was forced to surrender at the conclusion of World War Two.
In an interview with Russian television, Putin said that European leaders had been coerced into sacrificing their feeling of independence and sovereignty.
Germany and other Western nations have responded carefully to inquiries into the explosions that struck Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, stating that they believe the explosions were intentional but refusing to speculate as to who could have been involved.
Putin told the national Rossiya-1 TV station, as published by Russian news agencies: “The issue is that European leaders have declared themselves openly that Germany was never a completely autonomous state after World War Two.
“At one time, the Soviet Union terminated what might be considered an occupation of the nation by withdrawing its soldiers. Nevertheless, as is widely known, the Americans were not like that. They are still in control of Germany.
Putin asserted to the interviewer that the explosions were carried out on a “state level” and scoffed at theories that an unrestrained pro-Ukraine organization was behind them.
While Berlin has made measures to lessen its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the pipelines were designed to transport Russian gas to Germany.
With Defence Minister Boris Pistorius speculating last week that the explosions may have been a “false-flag operation to accuse Ukraine,” Berlin’s leaders have been circumspect in assigning responsibility for the explosions.