Germany opposes embargo on Russian gas, oil and coal

The German foreign and finance ministers spoke out on Sunday against a ban on importing gas, oil and coal from Russia as part of the sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine.

“You have to be able to maintain (sanctions) over time,” explained the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, to the ARD network. “They will be of no use if in three weeks we discover that we only have a few days of electricity in Germany and that the sanctions must be reversed.”

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“We are willing to pay a very, very high economic price”but “if tomorrow in Germany or in Europe the lights go out, that’s not going to stop the tanks”, added Baerbock in an interview with the ZDF network.

United States discuss “very actively” the possibility of banning the import of Russian oil, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Authorities and residents of Ukraine have claimed to sanction Russian hydrocarbon exports for the invasion of their country.

But German Finance Minister Christian Lindner was also skeptical.

“We must not limit our ability to endure over time” and an embargo on Russian hydrocarbons “it would have a negative impact on that capacity”Lindner told the Bild newspaper.

Germany imports 55% of its gas and 42% of its oil and coal from Russia, a dependency for which the government made a self-criticism after the invasion of Ukraine, but which will take years to diminish.

The new sanctions of the G7 of great economies against Russia should especially “touch the oligarchs” who have gotten rich under Russian President Vladimir Putin, the German Finance Minister told the ARD network.

The G7 countries announced in a statement on Friday their intention to impose “severe new sanctions” against Moscow “in response to Russian aggression” to Ukraine.

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Source: Elcomercio

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