The German government has decided to continue business with Russian companies in the field of energy supplies. This was announced on Monday, March 7, by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“The federal government has been working for several months with partners in the European Union and beyond to develop alternatives to Russian energy. But it doesn’t happen overnight. Therefore, it was a conscious decision on our part to continue the activities of commercial enterprises in the field of energy supply with Russia, ”he quotes press office cabinet.
As Scholz noted, now there is no other way to ensure energy supplies to Europe for industry, electricity supply and transport, therefore, despite the sanctions pressure on Russia, Europe deliberately withdrew energy supplies from the Russian Federation from sanctions.
This step is primarily important for ensuring the daily life of Europeans, the Chancellor added.
A few days earlier, on March 4, Scholz said that Germany had already started buying gas bypassing Russia, although it still continues to receive Russian gas, coal and oil. According to him, the country was preparing in advance for the consequences of anti-Russian sanctions, including stopping the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
On the same day, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell stressed that the EU cannot become independent of Russian gas from tomorrow, but will seek to reduce dependence in every possible way.
At present, prices for futures gas supplies in Europe have risen in price by more than 60%. Price for 1 thousand cubic meters m again updated the historical maximum, having already exceeded $3,500. This follows from the data of the exchange ICE as of March 7th. The growth of exchange quotations for gas is observed against the background of the fact that the United States, the European Union, Great Britain and some other countries announced the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions.
According to German Vice Chancellor, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habek, if coal or gas supplies from Russia are cut off, the upcoming winter in the EU countries will be problematic. He also noted that a longer use of hard coal as an energy resource will not solve the problem, since Germany and several other European countries depend on its imports.
Western countries imposed sanctions after Russia launched an operation to protect civilians in the Donbass on February 24. The situation in the region escalated significantly in mid-February due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. The authorities of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics announced the evacuation of residents to the Russian Federation, and also turned to Moscow for help. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR and promised to support the republics.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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