Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, gave an interview to TV host Tucker Carlson at a stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where he called those who consider him a friend of Russia "sick," Meduza reported on November 1
"They [the Democrats] love to say that I was a friend of Russia, that I worked for Russia, that I was a Russian spy. These people are sick," Trump was cited as stating.
He added that Russia’s greatest asset was the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany through Europe. "I destroyed it. No one did that; I did. I stopped it," Trump declared.
During his presidency, Trump repeatedly criticized Germany for building Nord Stream 2, opposing the restoration of former relations with Moscow. He even threatened to impose sanctions on German companies involved in the construction.
The U.S. presidential election will take place on November 5. Throughout his campaign, Trump has frequently spoken about Russia and his relationship with Vladimir Putin. He claimed that he threatened to strike Moscow if Russia attacked Ukraine and often said that if he were president, there would be no war between Russia and Ukraine. He insists that if he becomes president, he will end the Russian-Ukrainian war before even taking office.
In the fall of 2022, an explosion on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea damaged three of the four pipelines, effectively putting the pipeline out of operation. Western media, citing investigation data, reported that a group of Ukrainian officers devised the pipeline sabotage operation in May 2022. Initially, it was approved by Vladimir Zelensky himself, but the CIA, upon learning of the plan, requested that he abandon it. However, the operation was carried out, and Ukrainian citizens are suspected in the sabotage.
The Kremlin attributed Trump’s remarks on Nord Stream to the U.S. "election race." "We see that many elements of this race don’t quite fit within our understanding. There is much that is overly extravagant and overly emotional. […] Perhaps, in the heat of this election race, we are hearing these statements mentioned," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He noted that one of the Nord Stream pipelines remains intact and is "ready for launch at any time."
