4 hours ago
Germany announced Stop its imports of Russian oil by the end of this year.
German Foreign Minister Annalina Birbock said: “We will halve Russian oil imports by the summer, and we will cancel them completely by the end of the year, and gas will come following that.”
Germany currently buys a quarter of its oil, and regarding 40 percent of its gas, from Russia.
Berlin says it may face an economic recession if it suddenly stops importing oil and gas from Russia.
The United States has already banned imports of Russian oil, while the United Kingdom plans to abandon those imports by the end of this year.
The German foreign minister said her country would follow the “European road map” to abandon Russian oil and gas imports.
The United States says it will “liberate Europe” from the need for Russian energy before 2030.
The German Foreign Minister said: “Our common abandonment…a complete abandonment of the European Union…is our common strength.”
Germany has already canceled the opening of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“As fast as possible”
Earlier this week, German economic institutes warned that an immediate halt to Russian oil and gas imports might cause a recession in Europe’s largest economy by 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Germany for not keeping pace with the United States and the United Kingdom in its pledges to reduce Russian energy imports.
Speaking to the BBC, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said his country was seeking to implement a ban on Russian energy imports “as quickly as possible”.
Lindner said that an immediate halt to Russian energy imports would cause a virtual shutdown of German manufacturers.
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 (from buying less Russian energy). I’m afraid of the actual scenario of deciding to stop buying completely immediately, because the effects go beyond the economic cost,” Lindner told the BBC.
The German minister blamed Russia for many economic and geopolitical problems affecting the global economy, pointing to high inflation rates, food crises, and serious 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 “mistake” of Vladimir Putin’s own calculations that Germany would continue to rely on Russian energy.
About 60 percent of Russia’s oil exports go to Europe, plus 20 percent go to China.
