the german chancellor Olaf Scholzwho has been more cautious than other Western leaders in backing Ukraine, has come under increasing pressure to take a tougher line, including from within the ruling Social Democratic coalition itself.
“Germany is not against an oil ban on Russia. Of course it is a heavy burden to bear, but we would be ready to do it.”Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Green Party told reporters ahead of talks with his EU colleagues in Brussels.
“With coal and oil, it is possible to give up Russian imports now,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the pro-business FDP told Die Welt newspaper. “It cannot be ruled out that fuel prices could go up.”
Germany had already reduced the share of Russian oil in its imports to 12% from 35% before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, although it had previously said it needed months to remove Russian crude to lessen the economic impact on the country.
Eastern parts of Germany in particular depend on fuel from a refinery owned by the Russian state oil company. Rosneftwhich is served by the Soviet-era “Friendship” oil pipeline that runs thousands of kilometers to the oil fields of Siberia.
Weaning Europe off Russia’s natural gas is likely to be more difficult than finding other sources of oil.
Russia has required European customers to pay for gas in rubles as counterpart to sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine, which the EU rejects.
Last week, Moscow cut off the offer to Poland Y Bulgaria. EU ministers met on Monday to discuss a joint response.
Source: Ambito
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