Prime Minister of Norway: "We will not be able to replace Russia as a gas supplier to Germany"

“We are only a third of Germany's gas needs, but our pipelines are already running at full capacity,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told ZDF media company.

Støre is arriving in Berlin on January 19, according to Deutsche Welle, for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to him, one of the messages he intends to convey to Scholz is the fact that Norway, despite the extremely high energy prices in his country, still intends to remain a reliable supplier of gas to Germany in the long term.

In Germany, against the background of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, there are calls to end dependence on Russian gas. Christian Democrat Juergen Hardt recently called for cuts in gas supplies from Russia. “It is unacceptable for me that we remain heavily dependent on gas supplies from Russia when Russia is such a critical partner in terms of international law. If it invades Ukraine, it should be clear that the launch of Nord Stream 2 will not be possible”, - he stressed.

Former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel also called into question the launch of the SP-2 against the backdrop of the pulling of Russian troops to the border with Ukraine.

The West and Ukraine suspect Russia of preparing for a military invasion of Ukrainian territory. Russia denies having such plans and is demanding legal guarantees from NATO against further eastward expansion. NATO considers such demands unacceptable.