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Germany should not count on Russian energy sources in future, says Scholz

Gas prices are expected to normalize in the future, since Germany will have new possibilities for imports, Chancellor said

BERLIN, December 8. /TASS/. Gas prices will never return to their previous level and Germany should continue to work to achieve independence in the energy sector, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with Germany’s Funke Media Group published on Thursday.

"We shouldn’t count on Russian energy sources any longer. We are now making necessary decisions to become independent [from Russian energy resources] in the long-term perspective," he said.

"Gas prices are expected to normalize in the future, since we will have new possibilities for imports. But we probably will never return to the low prices we had before the war," he added.

Germany is taking steps to reduce its dependence on Russian energy sources. The country’s government is staking on the construction of terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Two floating LNG facilities will be commissioned by the end of the year, and two more - by May 2023. Their aggregate capacity is estimated at 33 billion cubic meters a year. The first stationary LNG terminal is planned to be built in Germany only by 2026.

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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Blast rocks military base south of Baghdad — Reuters

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Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials

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Russia can join top three countries by lithium reserves — governor

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Lavrov labels way West ramping up sanctions against Russia as mindless

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