Germany must cut back on Moscow’s gas supply despite disruption fears, economy minister says
Germany will not revive Nord Stream 2, a pipeline built to deliver gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea, despite fears of supply disruptions, the country’s Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, has said.
Construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed last year, but Berlin halted its certification shortly after Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in late February.
Habeck told German broadcaster ZDF on Thursday that the country must conserve natural gas and continue decreasing its dependence on supplies from Russia.
He ruled out the use of Nord Stream 2 saying “It would be raising the white flag.”
Habeck’s comments come after Russian gas giant Gazprom resumed deliveries through Nord Stream 1 on Thursday following a 10-day shutdown for annual maintenance. Gazprom reduced the flow in the pipeline last month citing the repairs.
Some German officials suggested that the shutdown was politically motivated and voiced fears that Moscow could cut supplies entirely in response to the sanctions imposed by the EU over Ukraine. “We have to accept that [Vladimir] Putin is using this gas lever against us,” Habeck told ZDF, referring to the Russian president.
READ MORE: Ukraine should ‘confiscate’ Russian gas – politician
The EU earlier announced the phase-out of Russian gas by 2030, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, this week, urged the bloc’s members to slash their use of gas by 15% from August to the end of March. Spain, Portugal and Greece said they were opposed to the proposed gas rationing scheme.
Habeck has repeatedly warned that an immediate end of Russian gas supplies would badly hurt the German economy and lead to an increase in unemployment and poverty.
RT (Russia Today) is a state-owned news organization funded by the Russian government. The information provided by this news source is being included by the Libertarian Hub not as an endorsement of the Russian government, but rather because it is being actively censored by Big Tech, Western governments and the corporate press. During times of conflict it is imperative that we have access to both sides of the story so we can form our own opinions, even if both sides are spewing their own propaganda. The censorship of RT, despite likely being a propaganda outfit for the Russian government, reduces our ability to hear one side of the conflict. For that reason, the Libertarian Hub will temporarily republish the RSS feed from RT. Visit https://rt.com