Small WorldIt is a well known fact that Germany in particular and Europe in general is dependent on Russia for its energy needs, especially natural gas.
The press talks about this as the reason for Germany's reluctance to play a bigger role in the Ukrainian situation and this is actually very true.
One thing that is not talked about in the press is the link between the upper echelons of German politics and the Russian energy business.
A case in point is Gerhard Schroeder.
Who is Gerhard Schroeder you ask?
Well he was the Chancellor of Germany from 1998-2005 before Angela Merkel took over as the top dog in German politics. Schroeder is the Chairman of Rosneft, the Russian energy company which is the largest energy company in the world. Small world eh!! But it gets even more interesting.
Who do you think are major shareholders in Rosnelf?
Well, BP the British oil company is a large shareholder as is the Government of Qatar.
So when you look at this spiders web (and there more than meets the eye) and listen to the rhetoric of the Biden Administration about severe sanctions against Russia if they invade, you got think that Putin is laughing as he sips his third vodka of the day.