Germany should start buying gas from Russia again – official – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

Germany must start buying gas from Russia again as soon as the conflict in Ukraine ends, the Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, said on Saturday. His nation would still need « pipe gas » from Russia, the official said.

“When the war is over, we should use gas from Russia again,” Kretschmer told the weekend edition of German tabloid Bild when asked what he would say to people asking for Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to be commissioned.

Nord Stream 2 was one of two pipelines designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany via a route along the bed of the Baltic Sea. The project was abandoned in late February as Germany halted its certification process when Russia recognized the two Donbass republics as independent.

Kretschmer believes that Germany would need the Russian gas pipeline infrastructure to be fully restored if it seeks to ensure sufficient energy supplies. He was asked if he thought the two Nord Stream pipelines damaged in an alleged act of sabotage in late September would be repaired.

“We will need gas pipeline and that is only possible with working pipelines”, he told Bild.

Russia should not be the sole energy supplier for Germany in the future, the prime minister said, adding that Berlin should also conclude long-term gas contracts with the United States, Qatar and other countries. other Arab countries, as well as “developing our own gas [fields] in the North Sea. »

His words came amid an acute energy crisis in Germany as the EU struggled to wean itself off Russian energy supplies. Brussels’ policy of sanctions against Moscow has so far done more harm than good for Germany, Kretschmer believes.

An economy « the tsunami is brewing now » warned the Head of State. According to him, entrepreneurs in Saxony face a « spectacular » Wrestle « for survival » and many of them « are about to give up » in a matter of « weeks, not months. » Kretschmer also said that the federal government’s aid measures had not yet been properly implemented, while Berlin’s energy-saving advice was only « piss people off ».

The Prime Minister also called for a quick diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict, adding that the EU should team up with the United States, China, India and Japan to stop the war. At the same time he said there was « Not a single reason why Ukraine should give up even one square meter of its territory. » Russia must also compensate for all the damage the conflict has caused to Ukraine, he added.

Four former Ukrainian regions – the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions – were officially declared part of Russia in early October, after voters in these territories overwhelmingly supported the decision in referendums. . kyiv and Western nations, including Germany, declared the votes a « fake » and continue to consider the territories as part of Ukraine.

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