Publicly airing the different types of sanctions against Russia is not conducive to the de-escalation of the tensions between Moscow and the West, German Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck said in an interview published Saturday
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2022) Publicly airing the different types of sanctions against Russia is not conducive to the de-escalation of the tensions between Moscow and the West, German Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck said in an interview published Saturday.
"There is no point in openly examining particular sanctions. We are currently in a precarious situation, and the goal must be de-escalation. At the same time, it is correct that the United States and the European Union are jointly voicing that Russia will bear a high economic cost if it invades Ukraine," Habeck said in response to a question on potential restrictions of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and plans to cut off Russia from the SWIFT global payments system.
Speaking to German newspaper WAZ, Habeck said that the operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline must fulfill certain requirements before natural gas can be transported through it. Meanwhile, he assumes that from a geopolitical perspective, the pipeline exacerbates dependence on Russian gas.
"Nord Stream 2 reinforces the need to diversify gas supplies. The last few weeks and the conflict in eastern Ukraine have heightened our concern that Russia is exploiting gas supplies against German interests," Habeck said.
Protracted tensions around Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks, with the US and EU raising concerns over a Russian military buildup at the Ukrainian border, with NATO urging allies to enhance their military support for Kiev. The European Council announced in January that Moscow would face "massive consequences and severe costs," if it invades Ukraine, with the European and US officials saying that an unprecedented batch of sanctions is being prepared to hit the Russian economy. The reports indicated that the Western allies consider blocking Russia's access to the IMF's Special Drawing Rights, excluding the country from the SWIFT global payment system and imposing sanctions on Russian gas and oil exports.
At the same time, Russia remains the largest supplier of natural gas to the EU, accounting for nearly 46.8% of the entire gas imports as of October 2021, well ahead of Norway with 20.5% and Algeria with 11.6%. Thus, as experts note neither country can ensure the necessary amount of gas supply to Europe, especially amid rising demand.
