Advertisement

Germany aims to be nearly free of Russian oil this year

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Germany aims to be nearly free of Russian oil this year
The black coal-fired Grosskraftwerk Mannheim (GKM) power plant in Mannheim, southwestern Germany, is pictured on February 23rd, 2022. (Photo by Daniel ROLAND / AFP)

Germany said on Saturday it aims to be nearly free of Russian oil imports by the end of this year, as countries look to squeeze Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Advertisement

"With each day, indeed each hour, we are saying goodbye to Russian imports," economy and climate minister Robert Habeck was quoted as saying by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"If we get there, we will be independent of Russian coal by the autumn and nearly independent of Russian oil by the end of the year."

Government statistics show Germany currently imports a third of its oil and 45 percent of its coal from Russia.

Cutting out Russian gas is a harder prospect for Germany, which imports more than half its intake from Russia.

Advertisement

Habeck has resisted an outright halt to Russian energy imports, warning it would cause winter shortages and drive inflation.

Countries have imposed massive sanctions against Russia for its deadly invasion of Ukraine which started on February 24th.

In an escalation of the sanctions, the United States and Britain said on March 8th they were cutting off Russian oil imports.

READ MORE:

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also