NATO Chief Rutte: While Criticising the US-Russia Diesel Deal, Europe Bought €6 Billion of Russian LNG in Six Months
Brussels — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, asked on a Dutch television talk show aired on the evening of November 5 about the diesel deal between the United States and Russia, pointed back at America's European allies: Europe bought €6 billion worth of Russian liquefied natural gas in the first half of this year, far more than the diesel deal will ever yield, and 'Europe also isn't saintly either.'
Rutte said European allies had 'panicked' when Washington and Moscow reached the diesel supply agreement on October 9, admitting that he himself had 'raised an eyebrow,' but he noted that Europe's own energy purchases from Russia were on a much larger scale. Bloomberg, citing figures from the German environmental group Urgewald, reported that European ports received a record 12.18 million tonnes of LNG from Russia's Yamal project in the first nine months of 2026, worth about €7.9 billion and up 9.5% from a year earlier, with France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain among the buyers; under existing long-term contracts, purchases of Russian LNG are not scheduled to stop completely until January 2027. Asked whether the money Europe spends on LNG might equally fund Russian weapons, Rutte asked in return whether the same calculation should be applied to that €6 billion.
In the same interview, Rutte praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the two speak weekly, said he had told President Donald Trump to 'keep your chin up' after the Republican Party's midterm election losses, and said it was important for Trump and Vladimir Putin to have a good relationship. (Source: Bloomberg)
Source: Bloomberg
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：北约秘书长吕特与美国战争部长赫格塞思2026年6月在布鲁塞尔北约总部向记者讲话（资料图）。照片：美国空军上士 Madelyn Keech／美国战争部，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, June 2026 (file photo). Photo: U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Madelyn Keech / U.S. Department of War, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
