West needs Russian gas, says Germany

Berlin: There is “no sensible alternative” to Russian gas to meet Europe’s energy needs, German economy minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday.

Many people acted as if there plenty of other so-urces from which Europe could draw its gas, but this is not the case, Mr Gabriel told a energy forum organised by the local daily Neue

Osnabruecker Zeitung on Thursday. The comments were printed in the newspaper’s Friday edition.

Germany’s dependence on Russian gas should be a motivation to seek dialogue on the issue of Ukraine and not let the current crisis with Russia escalate further, Mr Gabriel said.

But “Russia met is contractual obligations even in the darkest times of the Cold War,” he said.