The Russian Ambassador in Vienna estimated the share of Russian gas in Austria at 50%

At the moment, the share of Russian gas in Austria is about 50%. Such information in conversation with “Izvestia” Russian Ambassador to Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky said.

The diplomat clarified that Austria managed to load its storage facilities with blue fuel on time, largely thanks to Russian supplies. At the same time, Vienna prefers to keep silent about this fact.

“The share of Russian gas in Austria is still almost 50%, despite the assurances of certain politicians that it will be reduced to almost 20%. It turns out that without Russia’s participation, it is still not very successful to cope with the energy crisis and guarantee a stable energy supply in Vienna”the ambassador emphasized.

In order to completely abandon Russian fuel, Austria will have to pay dearly in the literal sense. Thus, with a 40% decrease in exports in January-October last year, gas prices rose by 127% at once.

Due to the high cost of gas, several Austrian enterprises had to close. Also, the country registered high inflation and a sharp increase in energy tariffs.

The problem with energy in Europe in general and in Germany in particular reached its peak when Western countries began to refuse Russian energy carriers as sanctions. According to Bloomberg, the rejection of Russian gas has already cost the European Union $1 trillion.

Fatih Birol, director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), warned on February 1 that European countries could face serious difficulties next winter if they do not reduce their natural gas consumption.

According to the expert, the EU was lucky this winter because of the rather mild weather, but the situation that will arise next winter is worrying. This is due to the fact that in the past few months Europe “still received Russian gas, but much less than before”, and also because in 2022 “for the first time in history, imports of liquefied natural gas to China decreased”.