German Economy Minister Robert Habeck defended on Tuesday the takeover of Russia's Gazprom Germania by the German energy regulator as lawful, saying the energy giant's exit had not been approved
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) German Economy Minister Robert Habeck defended on Tuesday the takeover of Russia's Gazprom Germania by the German energy regulator as lawful, saying the energy giant's exit had not been approved.
Gazprom announced last week it was cutting ties with the company but Habeck argued that any sale of such a critical asset required Federal permission. The network regulator will be in charge of the German arm of the Russian energy giant until September 30.
"We reviewed the rights transfer and it gave us a cause for serious doubt... That is why we acted within German law," Habeck told reporters.
Klaus Mueller, the head of the German regulator, said on Tuesday that the move averted bankruptcy of the local gas trading, storage and transmission major.
Habeck spoke after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened the European Union with a tit-for-tat response if it tries to nationalize Russian assets abroad. He stressed that such behavior was a "double-edged weapon."
