Import companies natural gas “They want, can and will pay in euros,” he said Olaf Soltsreferring to Kremlin demand that payments for Russian energy be made in rubles from now on and repeated that the Europe will not allow the impression to be given that she can be blackmailed by Vladimir Putin.
He asked once again from her Moscow immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, facilitation of humanitarian aid and honest peace negotiations.
“We saw the contracts. They stipulate that payments are usually made in euros and in some cases in dollars. I made it clear to the Russian president that it would remain that way. “Companies want, can and will pay in euros,” Olaf Solz said during a joint news conference with his Austrian counterpart Carl Nehammer.
The two leaders agreed, however, that the dependence of both their countries and other European countries on Russian energy does not currently allow for an embargo on imports from Russiawhile when asked if the feeling of being dependent on Russian gas is awful, they answered “yes”.
The German chancellor even estimated that his country will probably be independent of Russian oil and lignite by the end of the year, but for gas it is required, he admitted, more time.
Asked if Austria could serve as a model for a neutral country for Ukraine, Carl Nehamer said his country is militarily neutral, but has a position and a point of view and is in solidarity when there is an international need.
“We are a member of the EU, the OSCE and the UN,” he said. its own territories “. For his part, Soltz noted that Eastern countries have a future in the EU, but referred to the Western Balkans, which “need a clear European perspective”.
“Any further delay, he added, makes them vulnerable to the influence of third parties,” he said, calling for the start of accession talks with Albania and northern Macedonia as soon as possible.
In the same vein, Mr. Nehamer, in the light of the long common history and tradition with the countries of the region, stressed that “we need not only words of a possible European perspective, but also actions”, otherwise the countries of the Western Balkans will be exposed in other spheres of influence, such as Russia, or China. It is important “for our geostrategic interests” to give these people a European perspective, he added.
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