The West has to reduce energy dependency on Russia
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At twilight, near Lubmin in Germany, is the Nord Stream 2 receiving station.
Getty Images| Getty Images
CNBC’s Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, has stated that it is up to the West to look for alternative energy sources to Russia. talks of potential sanctions intensify.
Scholz spoke to Hadley Gamble of CNBC at the Munich Security Conference and stressed the dependence on Russia’s energy supply for much of the West.
“There is a lot of exports of oil, coal and gas from Russia to many countries – there is also a big [export]”Oil to the United States,” said he Saturday.
So we must all work hard to make a new situation. It’s necessary that we also make it feasible that there is good cooperation – that we come back to a situation where there is not this confrontation … This is what we are working for.”
Russia was the largest supplier of natural gas and oil to the European UnionThis was last year.
It follows much talk from Western officials over recent weeks about sanctioning Russia — and its energy industry in particular — if it invades Ukraine. Russia denied plans to invade neighboring countries, although it has accumulated an estimated 150,000 troops close to the border.
Also, multiple claims of shelling across cease-fire linesSources from Ukraine and Russia this week. In a planned exercise, Saturday will see the release of these documents. Russia launched ballistic and cruise missilesIn a demonstration of nuclear readiness.
CNBC reported earlier Saturday by Ursula von der Leyen (President of European Commission) that energy sanctions were still available against Gazprom, the Russian giant of natural gas.
Such sanctions could however have major financial implications for Ukraine because a lot of Russia’s gas pipelines are through Ukraine. Scholz assured that the “we’re taking care” about this matter.
He stated that he was working hard to ensure gas transit through Ukraine is a positive future.
“We are already working extremely hard to get good gas transit agreements between Ukraine and Russia for the next period. This is our responsibility … to make gas transit a question that works through all the pipelines we have, especially the Ukrainian one. Now we’re working for peace.”
Energie alternatives
Scholz is not the only person to talk about the need for Russia’s energy dependence; both Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the EU’s von der Leyen spoke earlier this week of the importance of such actions.
Stoltenberg indicated that Europe was “working hard” in reducing its dependency on Russia for energy. Stoltenberg added, “We need to be less dependent from energy coming from one source.”
Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU has been successful in reaching other sources of energy. She said, “We can make it through winter without Russian gas.”
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