- President Donald Trump claimed that Germany is "controlled" by Russia because "60 to 70% of their energy" comes from the country.
- While Germany doesn't get quite that much energy from Russia, Trump did highlight a major part of Russia's economic plan.
- 40% of Europe's natural gas imports, and between 50% to 75% of Germany's natural gas imports, come from Russia.
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Germany may not be 'controlled' by Russia — but Trump did have a point highlighting a growing connection between the two countries
President Donald Trump said that because Germany is "controlled" by Russia because it gets "60% to 70%" of its energy from Russia. While Trump somewhat overstated Germany's reliance, the president did make a key point about Russia's economic plans.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday launched a broadside against Germany soon after arriving at the NATO summit in Brussels, highlighting a growing connection between the two countries in the process.
Trump's attacks on Germany focused on two major issues: supposed under-spending on defense, and the country's spending on energy imports from Russia.
But Trump also exaggerated just how deep the ties go.
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AG Energiebilanzen, a Germany energy research group, 59% of Germany's energy consumption comes from oil and gas, with the other 41% coming from coal, renewable sources, and nuclear power. This means that roughly 20% of Germany's total energy mix comes from Russian oil and gas, a high percentage but certainly short of the 60% to 70% that Trump suggested.
Additionally, as German officials later pointed out, Germany has also helped lead the sanctions on Russia in the wake of the invasion of Crimea.
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