Germany will end purchases of Russian coal on August 1 and stop buying Russian oil on December 31, as the country looks to end its energy reliance on Russia following Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.
Russia previously supplied 40 percent of Germany’s coal and 40 percent of its oil, Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Kukies on July 13 told the Sydney Energy Forum, hosted by the Australian government and the International Energy Agency.
“Anyone who knows the history of the Druzhba [oil] pipeline, which was already a tool of the Soviet empire over Eastern Europe, ridding yourself of that dependence is not a trivial matter, but it is one that we will achieve in a few months,” Kukies said.
He added that the key challenge ahead will be to fill the massive gap that will be left in gas supplies after Germany and the entire European Union weans itself off Russian supplies, which now amount to 158 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
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