CDU leader Michael Fuchs says that Germany should widen sanctions to Russian gas sales by curbing purchases of Russian gas. Bloomberg reports him giving an interview to radio station Deutschland funk.
- We should think about what really hits Russia
- Reduced gas purchase would be the strongest sanction that we have in my opinion
- There are other possibilities to get gas to Germany than from Russia, example is liquified natural gas
- Buying less gas means less foreign exchange for Russia
- It’s not acceptable that Russia first annex territories (Crimea) then on top of that have some militia fighting a proxy war in Eastern Ukraine that leads to civilian planes being shot down
- I think it necessary that we impose more and tougher sanctions against Russia
- That won’t please German businesses and it will almost certainly lead to very difficult situations in one case or another
Sanctions and any other moves on targeting gas from Russia is the elephant in the room and it’s a biggie. Anything that the West do to hit Russia in the pocket through gas could come back to haunt them later. Germany may be able to get by using other sources but other smaller countries won’t have that luxury. Using other supplies would naturally mean an increase in prices paid and that will hit the economy and inflation. There’s also a possible backlash further down the line of Russia putting prices up later on to compensate or hit Europe in retaliation. It’s a fine line that both Russia and Europe both walk regarding gas.
