Scholz Proposes to Prepare for Gas Supply Cuts from Russia

The Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, has proposed that preparations should be made for a potential halt in gas supplies from Russia. This was reported by РИА новости.

Germany does not rule out the possibility that at some point, Moscow may decide to stop gas supplies to Germany. Scholz made this statement during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

In response to a question on whether Germany expects to face the same fate as Poland and Bulgaria, where Gazprom halted gas supplies after they refused to pay in rubles, Scholz suggested avoiding speculation and guessing what Moscow might do, as only assumptions can be made on that issue.

Nonetheless, Berlin is preparing for any developments. Furthermore, Germany began taking these steps even before Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory. According to the Chancellor, a substantive analysis of the situation has allowed Berlin to understand how to stop the import of Russian coal by autumn and ultimately free itself from gas dependency.

He emphasized that Germany needs to build terminals for receiving liquefied gas, which, however, will require some time.