Germany will do without Russian gas, and this is already obvious. But many Germans are wondering if the Kremlin dictatorship will be replaced as an important source of energy raw materials by a Middle Eastern authoritarian regime that is ready to receive economic and other advantages by all available methods.? Radio Liberty writes about it.

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Recall that in the spring Germany began to look for a replacement for Russian gas supplied through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.. The prospects for putting Nord Stream 2 into operation have disappeared after Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz proclaimed the " After all, Germany is simply used to the fact that gas has been flowing uninterruptedly from the east since the days of the USSR. Huge concerns built their strategy on this.

Even after the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbass, the German government did not consider it possible and necessary to curb the appetites of business. Chancellor Angela Merkel responded to all doubts and criticism with the standard phrase: "

For Merkel, gas was the main tactical resource for her announced transition to renewable energy, after her government decided to phase out nuclear energy..

Since March 2022, the new coalition government of Germany, which came to power a few months before Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, has been looking for alternatives to Russian gas.

The main topic in Germany was the development of renewable energy sources. There were discussions about extending the operation of nuclear power plants. The law on the termination of the use of brown and hard coal was frozen. However, the priority was still gas.

The refusal of Russian gas happened by itself. Deliveries would not stop before winter: the Ministry of Economics planned so. Germany even forced Canada to supply one of the turbines to Russia, which was supposedly extremely important for pumping gas (in fact it was a spare part). However, after it became completely clear to Moscow that it was not necessary to wait for the commissioning of Nord Stream 2, it began to act by other methods..

Under the guise of guarantee work, Russia has consistently reduced gas supplies, waiting for the reaction of the German government. Strange sabotage followed on two pipelines in close proximity to the German borders.

It became obvious even to optimists that it is urgently necessary to increase gas imports from other countries, in particular from Norway.. Plus, the Netherlands refused to close the disputed field, planning began on the construction of terminals for receiving tankers with liquefied natural gas (LNG). The list of possible suppliers included the United States and - among others - Qatar. In May 2022, Robert Habek paid a visit to this country and signed an agreement of intent.

Susanne Ungrad, spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Economy, told Radio Liberty that accelerated energy reorientation has become a strategic goal for Germany.. The use of renewable sources is being accelerated: water, sun, wind, thermal and hydrogen energy. However, gas is still the main temporary resource.

The first LNG tanker terminal was recently put into operation in the city of Brunsbuttel. According to the representative of the Ministry of Economics of Germany, it is planned to immediately fully use all its capacities. Therefore, Uniper, RWE and EnBW/VNG have already secured guaranteed shares in the volume of gas supplied. In addition, all these concerns, which previously relied on Russian gas, vowed never again to participate in the financing of the Putin regime, including through LNG supplies..

What about Qatar? Since May, the critical voices of the press, the public, environmental activists and the opposition in the Bundestag have not ceased in Germany, warning of the emergence of a " The German media sarcastically commented on photos of the visit of the Minister of Economy to Qatar, in which Robert Habek bowed to the emir to almost kiss his hand. Will the Germans put a new yoke around their necks, will they allow themselves to be persuaded with bribes, as did European politicians and officials who promoted the World Cup in a completely non-football hot country?

As reported. Having long been a major exporter of liquefied natural gas to Asian countries, Qatar is ready to become the most important source of energy for Europe, which, after a full-scale invasion of the Russian army into Ukraine, decided to reduce gas imports from the aggressor country. Qatar is also moving closer to China, undermining Russia's hopes to divert much of the energy Europe no longer buys to Asia..