No more oil, gas and coal from Russia? That would probably be one of the last possible sanctions. But the German Chancellor reiterated that he does not want that.
Shortly before the summit of the EU, G7 and NATO in Brussels, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is sticking to his clear no to an immediate stop to energy imports from Russia because of the Ukraine war.
The position of the federal government is unchanged, said Scholz after a meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in Berlin. This also applies to many other EU member states, whose dependence on Russian energy is even greater. “No one should be left out in the rain in this regard.”
Scholz emphasized that sanctions would have to have a strong effect on Russia on the one hand, but on the other hand they would have to be manageable for the country’s own economy. «We have to be very clear: It may be that this is not a short matter, but a longer discussion. And we all have to get through this together.” Nevertheless, work will be done to make Europe independent of Russian energy as quickly as possible.
The Ukraine, but also some EU countries are pushing for an EU ban on imports of energy from Russia. They argue that President Vladimir Putin uses the proceeds – several hundred million euros a day – to finance his war. On Thursday, first NATO and then the group of leading democratic economic powers G7 and the European Union will meet for a summit. The EU summit lasts until Friday.
Russia had already been expelled from the then G8 after the capture of the Ukrainian Crimea in 2014, which thus became the G7 again. The country is still represented in the G20 of major economic powers. Scholz expressed reservations about whether it should stay that way and whether Russia has a future in the World Trade Organization (WTO). That must be discussed among the members, he said.
The Chancellor added: «It is very clear that we are busy with something else at the moment than coming together in such meetings. We now need direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine that go beyond what we have today.” The next G20 summit is scheduled to take place in Indonesia in October.
Source: Stern
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