“We work day and night”: The German Ministry of Economy announced plans to stop depending on Russian oil by the end of the year

Germany plans to become independent from Russian coal by autumn, and by the end of the year to become almost independent from Russian oil. This was reported by Kommersant with reference to the head of the German Ministry of Economy Robert Habek.

At the same time, Habek admitted that it would be more difficult to abandon Russian gas, since Germany does not have its own capacities to import it. He noted that he understands those who call for an early embargo on Russian energy supplies, but he is responsible for his country and must take into account the consequences of the decisions made.

According to him, this is not about their own comfort, but about significant economic and social restrictions. If we impose a ban on the import of coal and gas right now, the country will face inflation, loss of work for hundreds of thousands of citizens, problems with heating and energy supply. “We are working every day, really every day, and sometimes even at night, to reduce dependence on Russian oil, coal and gas,” Khabek said.

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that European countries should “keep cool” on the embargo on Russian energy supplies. She stressed that it would be pointless “to first impose sanctions, and then say that European countries will not be able to endure them.”

At the moment, demands to abandon Russian oil and gas will be useless and still will not stop the special operation in Ukraine, Burbock said. According to her, if Germany or other European countries stop all imports of energy resources from Russia, “in a couple of weeks they will lose electricity and heating.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in turn, said that the impact of Western sanctions on Russia “is already huge and obvious.”