German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said his government’s goal should be to secure independence from Russian energy supply, even if it means pushing for alternatives previously considered “unrealistic”. Following Russia’s decision to cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday over their refusal to comply with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand for a ruble payment, Habeck told reporters in a press conference in Berlin that Germany from Russian gas has been declining rapidly in recent weeks. “Germany has now reduced its gas imports from Russia to 35 percent – compared to 55 percent before the start of the war,” he said. Although it is not “realistic” for Germany to completely ban Russian gas before next year, given the new infrastructure needed to diversify gas imports, “nevertheless, we have to try the unrealistic in some ways. “Now,” said Hubeck. Hubeck urged Germany to speed up the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal within ten months. Habek described Russia’s decision to cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria as an example of “the reality of energy being used as a weapon” and said “Russia seems ready to get serious”. They are ready to stop delivering gas. “We have to take it seriously, and that goes for other European countries as well.” “It would be cynical if the great and powerful Germany thought: ‘Oh, well, you can beat the kids a little – that’s a warning to you.’ “No, that’s the reality – this is the reality where energy is used as a weapon and we have to see that we are not defenseless when energy is used as a weapon.”
Germany’s goal is to diversify its energy infrastructure accordingly and “renew our energy infrastructure on the basis of renewable energy sources and massive savings, so that we are not defenseless,” he added. On Tuesday, during a visit to Poland, Hubeck said Germany could handle an embargo on Russian oil imports, hinting that the country could end its dependence on Russian oil imports soon. Habeck told reporters that Germany’s share of crude oil imported from Russia had fallen from 35 percent before the war to about 12 percent, adding that a European embargo on Russian oil would be “manageable.” Hubeck stressed on Wednesday that Germany would continue to make energy payments in euros or dollars according to its European partners.