The State Duma assessed the desire of a German deputy to resume imports of Russian oil

Germany is unlikely to resume imports of Russian oil in the near future. This opinion was expressed by Igor Ananskikh, first deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Energy, on Tuesday, January 21. Thus, the deputy responded to the desire expressed by Bundestag deputy Sevim Dagdalen to resume oil and gas supplies from Russia.

The day before, Bundestag deputy Sevim Dagdelen said that Germany should resume imports of Russian hydrocarbons for the oil refinery in the German city of Schwedt for the sake of establishing market prices for energy carriers, according to 360.ru. She also spoke in favor of opening Nord Stream 2, RT reported.

"Frankly speaking, I am very pessimistic about it. It's good to see that more and more people are starting to say that Germany's power was based on cheap energy from Russia. <...> The LNG that is brought in from the US is 10 times more expensive than what Germany was getting from Russia. This difference is obvious, and this, of course, affects both the German industry and ordinary Germans," Ananskikh said in a conversation with Lenta.Ru.

Ananskikh noted that he does not believe that the Druzhba and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines will work in the coming year, but he added that he is pleased by the fact that more and more people are talking about it.

Eternal stagnation: German economy falls for the second year in a row

A return to sustainable growth is unlikely without renewed ties with Russia

Earlier, on January 16, former German Finance Minister Oscar Lafontaine called for the immediate lifting of sanctions against Russia, which have already damaged the European Union (EU). He specified, among other things, that the restrictions are contrary to international law.

At the same time, the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper reported that the refusal to use Russian gas had a significant impact on German industry. As Mikhail Belyaev, a financial analyst and candidate of economic sciences, added in his commentary to Izvestia, not only the energy industry of Germany suffered, but also those parts of the industry where gas was used as a raw material. In particular, Germany faced difficulties due to gas restrictions in the automotive and chemical industries.

Western countries increased sanctions pressure on Russia after the start of the special operation to protect civilians in Donbass, which was announced on February 24, 2022.