Germany needs to return Russian gas, which is a “blessing” for Berlin. This was announced on August 12 by a German politician, a member of the Alternative for Germany party, Anton Baron, the Zeit newspaper reported.
“Russian gas has been a blessing to the economy and our prosperity,” he said.
The politician stressed that Berlin is trying to abandon nuclear energy and turn off coal-fired power plants, but this is becoming a transition from one energy dependence to another.
The baron added that the conflict in Ukraine is not a reason to make decisions that are unfavorable for the German economy.
In early August, Japanese economist Kazuhiko Fuji noted that Germany was facing an economic downturn due to the refusal of the German authorities from Russian gas. In his opinion, the most noticeable effect of the refusal of Russian gas has affected the chemical industry, as sales began to fall due to high fuel prices.
In January, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, in an interview with the BBC, said that Germany allegedly no longer depends on Russian energy resources. He noted that the country has reopened coal-fired power plants and also increased storage capacity for natural gas imported from other countries.
At the same time, the head of the German Parliament Committee on Energy and Climate Protection, Klaus Ernst, called for the lifting of sanctions against Russia imposed by the European Union. According to him, the refusal of Russian gas has led to a strong increase in energy prices.
Western countries decided to reduce their dependence on Russian energy resources against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which was announced on February 24. However, as a result, a serious energy crisis began in the European region.
