Former Ambassador Rick Grenell told Newsmax on Monday that the administration of President Joe Biden should impose its planned ''severe'' sanctions against Russia before a ''bloody war'' breaks out in Ukraine.
''Imagine if a president of the United States for sure thought that there was going to be a war, a bloody war, and yet, refused to put the crippling sanctions on the [Nord Stream 2] pipeline, which is fueling this war,'' Grenell, the former ambassador to Germany under former President Donald Trump, said on ''The Chris Salcedo Show.''
''I think that Washington, D.C., once again is trapped into this military decision-making process. The Pentagon looks at every situation and is prepared for some sort of military conflict or reaction.''
Grenell said that sanctions, including an end to the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline promised by Biden, would give the U.S. more leverage to push a diplomatic solution to the buildup of more than 100,000 troops on Russia's border with Ukraine, instead of waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade.
''The president doesn't have to choose the military option every single time,'' he said. ''You can use sanctions, you can use peaceful measures, you can use the State Department, but I've never seen the State Department shoved off to the side as we rush troops into Europe and really prepare for a war that even the Ukrainians aren't quite sure is going to happen.''
According to The New York Times, the $11 billion, 746-mile Nord Stream 2 Pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast to northeastern Germany and is expected to start bringing Russian natural gas to Germany in the second half of the year.
The pipeline would help supply an estimated 27% of demand and is a ''critical'' source of German energy, the Times reported.
Biden told reporters last week that should Russia invade Ukraine, ''then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.''
Geopolitical uncertainty and heightened tensions exacerbate the energy crisis facing Germany, however, as natural gas reserves decrease as demand increases, driving prices higher there.
''I believe that neither Nord Stream 2 nor any other distribution channels need to be seen in isolation,'' said Alfred Stern, chief executive of OMV, a company that is financially backing the pipeline, said in the Times story.
''We should be aware of the fact that we need gas in Europe — there is a shortage of gas, production levels are going down, and demand now and in the near future will remain high,'' he said.
Grenell said the energy situation in Germany is ''undermining'' NATO and the ability to resolve the issue diplomatically.
''It's unbelievable how much we're just letting the Germans get away with undermining NATO and saying we're only going to put sanctions on the Russian pipeline if there's a bloody war,'' he said. ''If you believe that there is a conflict coming, put the sanctions on, do some diplomacy now.''
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