Germany Declares Independence From America(Source thetrumpet.com) Germany’s foreign minister declared independence from the United States this week. Europe, he said, should form a “counterweight” to the U.S., opposing America whenever it “crosses red lines.”
Writing in Germany’s Handlesblatt newspaper, he warned that Germany couldn’t be this counterweight alone. “The main goal of our foreign policy is therefore to build a sovereign, strong Europe,” he wrote. He called for European independence in practical ways; he wants to make Europe’s financial system much less dependent on the U.S. The article made waves in Germany and around the world. Handlesblatt called it “a break with 70 years of German foreign policy.” This article comes as Germany is taking actions opposing the U.S. America is placing sanctions on Turkey, while Germany is trying to help Turkey survive them. America is putting sanctions on Iran; Europe is trying to help Iran find ways to keep trading with the world. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last weekend, they discussed rebuilding Syria—without the U.S.
We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in Germany’s political alignment.
Time has come for Russia to finally ditch US dollar – Foreign Ministry (Source RT) Russia will definitely respond to Washington’s latest sanctions and, in particular, it is accelerating efforts to abandon the American currency in trade transactions, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. “The time has come when we need to go from words to actions, and get rid of the dollar as a means of mutual settlements, and look for other alternatives,” he said in an interview with International Affairs magazine.
“Thank God, this is happening, and we will speed up this work,” Ryabkov said, explaining the move would come in addition to other “retaliatory measures” as a response to a growing list of US sanctions. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak recently noted that a growing number of countries are interested in replacing the dollar as a medium in global oil trades and other transactions.
“There is a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements. There is a need for this, as well as the wish of the parties,” Novak said. According to the minister, it concerns both Turkey and Iran. “We are considering an option of payment in national currencies with them. This requires certain adjustments in the financial, economic, and banking sectors” to accomplish. Last week, the Kremlin said it is interested in trading with Ankara using the Russian ruble and the Turkish lira. India has also vowed to pay for Iranian oil in rupees. The world’s second-largest economy, China, has also been taking steps to challenge the greenback’s dominance with the launch of an oil futures contract backed by Chinese currency, the petro-yuan. China and Iran have already agreed stop using the dollar in global trade.