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Germany’s Greens leader calls on government to negotiate gas supplies with Russia

According to Robert Habeck, The Greens believe that the Nord Stream 2 project cannot be granted a permit for the operation because of the EU Gas Directive

BERLIN, October 17. /TASS/. Robert Habeck, co-leader of the German party Alliance 90/The Greens, has called on the German government to discuss the situation on the European gas market with Moscow.

"We depend on Russia and it restricts gas supplies," he said in an interview with the ARD television channel. "[Gas] storage facilities [in Germany] are not full but the demand is high. The current German government must waste no time and speak with Russia to change this situation."

According to Habeck, The Greens believe that the Nord Stream 2 project cannot be granted a permit for the operation because of the EU Gas Directive. "It looks like Russia is playing a kind of poker with us. But this is a matter of foreign policy, which the German government can at least discuss," he said.

Germany’s possible future chancellor, Olaf Scholz said in an interview with the ZDF television channel on Sunday that the certification of the gas pipeline and the issuance of an operations permit are "absolutely formal processes."

German Energy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Friday, the country’s gas storage facilities are 75% full and the country is not dependent on Russian gas. The German energy ministry has repeatedly stressed that it has no data on Moscow’s failure to meet its contract liabilities.

The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that Nord Stream 2 is an entirely commercial project that is being implemented jointly with European partners. Speaking at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week on October 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed allegations that Russia uses energy issues as weapons as politically-motivated idle talk. "Even in the most difficult periods of the Cold War, Russia always implemented its contract liabilities in full and supplied gas to Europe.".

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Putin to extend New Year greetings to peoples of several unfriendly countries — Kremlin

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Turkish president calls on West to stop Israel in Syria before it’s too late

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Trump nominates billionaire Feinberg as US Deputy Secretary of Defense

The president-elect called Feinberg an "extremely successful businessman"

Russia to retaliate against Ukrainian strikes, just as Putin said — Kremlin

"Russia’s position is well known, it was voiced by Putin back in St. Petersburg," Dmitry Peskov stressed

Ukraine's refusal to transit Russian gas will hit EU economies hard — French expert

According to Jacques Sapir, the decision not to extend transit contracts was no surprise given the political landscape

NATO prepares for war with Russia, Moscow takes these risks into account — senior diplomat

According to Alexander Grushko, NATO's general course poses a danger both to Russia and to the entire architecture of global and regional security

CIA station in Kiev targeted in recent Russian attack, military expert reveals

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Crew, passenger of An-2 plane crashed in Kamchatka satisfactory — medics

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Assad allegedly hands list of military targets over to Israel before leaving Syria — media

According to the Turkish newspaper, the former Syrian president did it to ensure his own safety

Massacre staged by retreating Ukrainian troops in Selidovo — report

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Syria’s new government wants to build strategic relations with Turkey

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Ukraine to halt Russian gas transit on January 1, 2025 — Ukrainian PM

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Father of conscript who killed 8 in Siberia asks son to cooperate with investigators

The father said that his son would like the unit where he had served to be disbanded

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also stressed that the recent developments had shown that the US policy of establishing a system of increasingly layered missile defenses was wrong

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Putin opens new transport infrastructure sites in Russian regions via video link

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Three of eight drones that attacked Kazan targeted defense industry facilities — head

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Oreshnik’s launch is sudden, undetectable by satellites — analyst

The range of the Oreshnik system is up to 5,500 kilometers

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Russian troops liberate two communities in Donbass area, Kharkov Region over past day

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Magnitude 5.3 earthquake rocks South Africa

No injuries or damage were reported

Ukrainian army launches long-range missiles at Donetsk

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Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger take armies to maximum alert — declaration

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Putin responds to question about Russia's weakness by quoting Mark Twain

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Ukraine may cease to exist by 2034 — Russian security official

Dmitry Medvedev noted that Ukraine will never join NATO

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NATO spies study damage from Oreshnik at Yuzhmash — expert

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More than 107,600 people received wounds

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Roman Starovoyt noted that Russia is holding negotiations with many airlines from friendly countries

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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also emphasized that Moscow is outraged by the hypocritical silence of the West and its media on the terrorist attacks in Russia

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Nandan Unnikrishnan pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has more than once spoken about Russia’s readiness to discuss an end to the conflict"

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Andrey Marochko noted that Russian forces had "slightly advanced" in the northern and southern parts of Chasov Yar

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Aleksandar Vulin noted that he is "not optimistic about prospects for the United States changing its policy toward Serbia" after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump

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Oreshnik test launch forces London to take a step back — Russian ambassador

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Baltic states threaten mass deportation of Russians, take lead in Russophobia — statement

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Hungary wants to maintain ties with Russia under its economic neutrality policy — PM

Victor Orban also said that hopes for the development of economic cooperation with the United States after President-elect Donald Trump takes office

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US Navy cruiser mistakenly downs F/A-18 fighter over Red Sea

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No real impulses for organization of Putin-Trump meeting so far — Kremlin spokesman

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Georgian president demands appointing snap elections within week

Salome Zourabichvili also promised to announce her further plans on Monday

Russia starts humanitarian electricity supplies to Abkhazia — minister

Abkhazia’s state-run energy company Chernomorenergo said that there will be just two two-hour shutdowns

Drone attack triggers fire at fuel infrastructure facility in Russia’s Oryol Region

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Putin holding talks with visiting Slovak PM

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Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger reaffirm withdrawal from ECOWAS irreversible

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Commander Makarov was killed in fighting to repel Ukrainian attack — ministry

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