Germany continues to rely on Russiannatural gas imports.- German vice-chancellor Habeck said the country is "ashamed" that it still buys gas from
Russia .
Russia may still be raking it in from its oil and gas sales, but Moscow can "hardly spend" money due to sweeping sanctions, said German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
"The income that Putin has obtained in recent months because of high prices hurts, and we can only be ashamed that we haven't yet managed to reduce this dependence more significantly," said Habeck, who is also Germany's
"Putin is still getting money, but he can hardly spend it anymore," he added.
Germany has condemned Russia's invasion of
In the first two months of the
Habeck told lawmakers in Berlin that Germany must work harder to cut its reliance on Russian natural gas, but added that sanctions were already taking their toll on Russia's economy and that Putin "can't keep going much longer," according to Bloomberg. For instance, Russia has lost access to security updates for airplanes — which means they could soon be grounded.
"Time is not working for Russia. It is working against Russia, it is working against the Russian economy," said Habeck, per DW.
Germany will wean itself off Russian gas by mid-2024, Habeck said in a March 25 press release.
"While taking resolute action, we are considering our options with prudence. Even if we become more independent of Russian imports, it is still too early for an