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IW Cologne boss Hüther: Don't steal it
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
Six months after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the head of the German Economic Institute (IW), Michael Hüther, warned against an end to the sanctions against Moscow.
"The sanctions are right because the West is showing its solidarity with Ukraine," Hüther told the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post" on Tuesday.
»Germany decided on the measures in close cooperation with the transatlantic partners;
Germany should not now withdraw from this solidarity.«
Hüther warned in particular against opening the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has been completed but has not been put into operation due to the Ukraine war.
"The debate about Nord Stream 2 is a sham debate: It would not change anything if we let the pipeline go online," said the IW boss.
Russian President Vladimir Putin "could find excuses to switch them off and on here, too."
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) and most recently the deputy FDP chairman Wolfgang Kubicki had campaigned for Nord Stream 2 to be put into operation in view of the gas crisis.
Germany is dependent on Russian gas supplies;
Reduced or interrupted deliveries in recent weeks have therefore fueled fears of serious bottlenecks in winter.
Hüther told the "Rheinische Post" that the sanctions imposed on Russia would work, "especially those on the export of high-tech goods.
Russia can only ever use the penultimate technology and is thus permanently hindered in technical progress.«
At the same time, Hüther said: “When it comes to energy, on the other hand, we have less leverage.
But fossil energy has no future in the long run anyway.
In the end, Russia is accelerating the restructuring of the German economy towards more climate protection.«
mike/AFP