European Commission (EC) Vice-President Maros Sefkovic believes the complete disappearance of Russian gas in supplies is an “almost impossible task”.
“Last year, we reduced gas imports from Russia from 150 billion cubic meters to below 80 billion cubic meters. This year the volume, including liquefied natural gas, will probably be only 40 billion cubic meters,” Sefcovic said in an interview with a German newspaper. handelsblatt. “So I would say that it is still almost impossible to completely give up on Russian gas,” he added.
The EC Vice-President also stressed that the European Union could further reduce imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia in the coming months if it continues to invest in infrastructure and develop new partnerships. “We are making sure that the gas purchased through the common EU platform does not come from Russia,” Sefcovic said. According to him, every strategically important resource should come from at least three suppliers.
Against this background, Türkiye sharply augmented Russian coal purchase. Deliveries in the eight months of this year increased by 55% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 14.6 million tons. As a result, Russia realizes approximately 70% of all coal imports to Turkey. Turkish power plants are actively replacing Colombian coal with supplies from Russia, which is even cheaper in terms of logistics. Also, coal partially replaces more expensive gas, including in Russia.
Formerly Scholz promise Ending the Nord Stream business.