From Sanctions to Prosperity: How Normalizing Relations with Russia Would Boost Germany’s Economy

... several Russian banks, integral to Gazprom's financial operations, from the SWIFT system and froze Russian financial assets, President Vladimir Putin had to respond decisively. In March 2022, he demanded that "unfriendly" countries, including Germany, pay for natural gas in roubles rather than euros or dollars. [ 33 ] Germany and the Group of Seven (G7) rejected this proposal. Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck threatened in early 2022 that the country should achieve independence from Russian gas by ...