Left Party leader: End the purchase of liquid gas from Russia immediately

Left Party leader Jan van Aken has called on the German government to stop importing Russian liquefied gas immediately. Referring to the energy company Sefe, he told the newspapers of the Funke media group: "Last year alone, the federally owned Sefe bought more than five billion cubic meters of liquefied gas from Russia, pouring hundreds of millions of euros into (Kremlin boss Vladimir) Putin's war chest. The German government must now pull out of the gagging contracts with Russia and Sefe must stop its dirty business immediately!"

The company was formerly called Gazprom Germania, was a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned Gazprom and was nationalized as a result of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine and the energy crisis in Germany. It continues to import liquefied natural gas from Russia to the EU on the basis of an existing long-term contract.

"As long as Putin does not stop his drone and bomb terror against civilians, not a single cent must go to Russia!" demanded van Aken.

He was reacting to the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), who had repeatedly called for energy to be sourced from Russia again after a possible end to the fighting in Ukraine. "It must be in our interest to resume energy supplies from Russia after a ceasefire," he told the Funke media group. "Russia must be a trading partner again in the long term - without us becoming dependent again." Economic relations also increase Germany's security.

Kretschmer's position has repeatedly drawn criticism from within his own ranks. Von Aken called this a "dishonest discussion" with regard to ongoing deliveries.

As part of a new package of sanctions against Moscow, the EU states have decided to stop importing liquefied natural gas from Russia from 2027, one year earlier than originally planned. Energy supplies from Russia were drastically restricted following its invasion of Ukraine. However, it was not stopped completely because the switch to other suppliers takes time - and too great an impact on consumer prices should be avoided.