US President Donald Trump applauded European nations’ efforts to diversify their sources of energy during his Sept. 25 address to the United Nations.
“Reliance on a single foreign supplier can leave a nation vulnerable to extortion and intimidation. That is why we congratulate European states, such as Poland, for leading the construction of a Baltic pipeline so that nations are not dependent on Russia to meet their energy needs,” he said.
“Around the world, responsible nations must defend against threats to sovereignty not just from global governance, but also from other, new forms of coercion and domination,” Trump warned. As the world’s biggest energy producer, the US strongly in energy security for itself and its allies, and stands ready to export its abundant, affordable crude oil, clean coal, and natural gas, he said.
Trump then criticized the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its members, who he said are, “as usual, ripping off the rest of the world, and I don’t like it. Nobody should like it. We defend many of these nations for nothing, and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices. Not good.”
Trump said, “We want them to stop raising prices, we want them to start lowering prices, and they must contribute substantially to military protection from now on. We are not going to put up with it—these horrible prices—much longer.”
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