Germany has announced the suspension of its imports of Russian oil by the end of this year. German Foreign Minister Annalina Birbock said: ‘We will halve imports of Russian oil by the summer, and completely cancel them by the end of the year, and then the turn will come some gas. Germany currently buys a quarter of its oil needs, and around 40% of its gas needs come from Russia. Berlin says it might face an economic recession if it suddenly stopped importing oil and gas from Russia. The United States has already banned imports of Russian oil, while the United Kingdom plans to drop such imports by the end of this year. Germany’s foreign minister said her country would follow the “European roadmap” to abandon Russian oil and gas imports.
The United States says it will “free Europe” from the need for Russian energy before 2030. And the German foreign minister said: “Our common abandonment…the complete abandonment of the European Union…is our common power. Germany has already canceled the opening of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this week, German economic institutes warned that an immediate halt to Russian oil and gas imports might trigger a recession in Europe’s biggest economy by 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized Germany for not keeping pace with the United States and the United Kingdom in its promises to limit Russian energy imports. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said his country was seeking to implement a ban on Russian energy imports “as soon as possible”. Russian energy is enough to bring regarding the effective closure of German manufacturing enterprises. The German minister noted that his country’s goal is to implement sanctions that “would harm Putin more than we Europeans and our single market”.
“I’m not afraid of the economic costs (caused by buying less Russian energy). I’m afraid of the real-world scenario resulting from a decision to completely stop buying immediately, as the effects of this go beyond the economic cost,” Lindner said. The German minister blamed Russia for many economic problems. And the geopolitics that have hit the global economy, noting high rates of inflation, food crises and severe debt crises – in a number of developing countries. Lindner also criticized the behavior of previous German governments in terms of dependence on Russian energy. The German minister also insisted on the “error” of Vladimir Putin’s own calculations according to which Germany will continue to depend on Russian energy. About 60% of Russian oil exports go to Europe, in addition to 20% to China
You might also be interested in:
Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine despite Moscow’s invasion of Kyiv and disputes over ruble payment
Algeria at the top of the alternatives proposed to offset Europe’s need for Russian gas