There have always been plans to phase out Russian gas, but they cannot be implemented in a few months. This was stated in an interview with Izvestia by former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl. According to her owls, it takes several years, because there is a huge infrastructure behind it.
“The goal of diversification and less dependence on Russian natural gas has been pursued by the EU since 2006-2007. Then it was about the internal problems of Ukraine. In early 2009, this led to interruptions in the supply of natural gas from Russia,” the former diplomat said.
She added that for all these 15 years, the topic of independence from Russian natural gas has been a constant on the debate in the EU.
According to the interlocutor of Izvestia, it will not be easy to find an alternative supplier, because we are talking about huge sums.
“Germany receives up to 40% of its natural gas from Russia. We can use its supplies from many Central European countries – Germany, Austria. However, for example, Hungary recently signed a long-term contract with the Russian Federation. Italy is also in close contact with Russia and is of the opinion that switching to another supplier in a few weeks or months is impossible,” Kneissl added.
As the former head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry noted, in order to switch to liquefied natural gas, the EU will need LNG tankers, which are mainly produced in South Korea.
“They have been built in Asia for years, but they cannot be ordered immediately when they are needed,” Kneissl emphasized.
In an interview with Izvestia, the former Austrian Foreign Minister also spoke about the reasons for the failure of negotiations between the West and the Russian Federation and the ineffectiveness of sanctions in military conflicts.
Read more in an exclusive interview with Izvestia:
“It was activism, not real diplomacy”