German Chancellor Olaf Scholz supported the policy of Angela Merkel in relations with Russia The current chancellor refused to condemn the policy of his predecessor Angela Merkel, noting that an attempt to negotiate peacefully could not be a mistake. Scholz considered it a mistake that Germany became dependent on Russian energy resources =”Scholz called Germany's mistake in relations with Russia” />
Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's policy towards Russia was not wrong, an attempt at peaceful coexistence cannot be, but Berlin's energy dependence from Moscow is a mistake, acting Prime Minister Olaf Scholz told DPA.
“An attempt at reconciliation can never be wrong, as well as an attempt to negotiate peacefully with each other. So I see myself closely next to my predecessor,»,— he said (quote from Welt).
According to him, a mistake has been made in the energy policy of Germany in recent years— Germany has become overly dependent on Russian energy resources, without creating the necessary infrastructure “so that in case of emergency it could quickly turn the situation around.” At the same time, Scholz refused to condemn Merkel's policy, saying: “I have always worked well with the former German chancellor and see no reason to question this in retrospect.”
Scholz also defends Merkel's decision to oppose Ukraine's NATO membership in 2008. Then she explained her position by the fact that only those countries in which the bloc is supported not only by politicians, but also by a significant percentage of the population should join the alliance. Later, Merkel said that Ukraine and Georgia, whose accelerated membership was decided at the summit, could become NATO members, but the time has not come yet.
“NATO membership criteria must be met by any state that wants to join an alliance. Ukraine's accession to NATO did not take place,” Scholz noted, stressing that President Vladimir Putin nevertheless justified the start of the military operation.
The dependence on Russian gas supplies and the country's ability to use this as leverage was warned in the United States as early as the 1980s. In 1981, the Reagan administration, in response to the introduction of martial law in Poland, tried to stop the construction of the main export gas pipeline Urengoy— Pomary— Uzhgorod, which was attended by European companies and banks. Washington imposed a ban on the supply of high-tech equipment from the United States to the USSR, and in 1982 tightened the embargo, banning the supply of products to foreign affiliates of American companies.
The European partners of the US refused to support these sanctions and declared them illegal. As a result of negotiations with representatives of European governments, on November 13, 1982, US President Ronald Reagan announced the lifting of the embargo on the supply of oil and gas equipment to the USSR.
Read on RBC Pro Pro Parallel imports: what goods can be imported from Turkey to bypass sanctions 4 More Types of Candidates HR Doesn't Like Super Mario Investment Principles p> The German authorities, after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions against Russia, including the supply of coal, oil, and so far only the ban on Russian gas under discussion, said that it was hard for the country to abandon energy resources from Russia. So, on June 13, Scholz, speaking at the EU summit in Brussels, said that the German government is doing everything possible to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas as soon as possible, but there are “serious practical problems” with this.
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