Germany says it paid for Russian gas with 'security, independence' and Ukraine with lives

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Sunday said that her country has to "put an end to the self-deception that we ever received cheap gas from Russia", adding that Berlin paid for Moscow's gas supply with its "security and independence." In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Baerbock denounced Russia's authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin for stopping the gas flow to Europe and held him responsible for the war and devastation in Ukraine.  

"Ukrainians paid for it thousands of times with their lives," Annalena Baerbock on Sunday said, adding that the gas pipeline for Russia has turned into "weapons of a hybrid war." 

European Union won't succumb to Russia's 'blackmailing': Baerbock

German foreign minister Baerbock had earlier warned Russia that the European Union won't succumb to its "blackmailing" after its state corporation Gazprom slashed the gas supply through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline linking Russia and Germany to half. She labelled the move as Russia’s 'tactic' and yet another attempt to divide the EU nations.

Speaking to RFE/RL separately, the German minister had warned that Moscow would be unsuccessful in its attempt to harass the EU because member nations were more united than ever, and hence understood clearly that they must end their heavy dependence on Russian energy. “We want to get 100 per cent independence from fossil energy from Russia as fast as we can,” Annalena Baerbock had stressed. 

Similarly, at a news conference in Prague, Germany's Baerbock lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for using gas as a weapon in a hybrid war between Ukraine and the West. "It’s very important for us to end dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports,” she reminded the EU, adding that the states must maintain their unity and determination to end reliance on Russian energy once and all.

The EU collectively agreed to slash their gas demand from Moscow by at least 15% between Aug. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, as compared to the average consumption in the last five years. According to the German minister, the dangers associated with energy dependence on Russia loomed since the 2014 Crimea annexation but the EU had chosen to ignore the problem.

"Actually, we as Europeans have known since 2014 at the latest ... that we must become completely independent of Russian fossil fuel imports, and a strategy was put in place to diversify our energy imports," Baerbock had reminded in a speech made at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue.