hurriyet.com.tr / FOREIGN NEWS
Europe, which depends heavily on Russia for natural gas purchases, is preparing for a harsh winter. Sweden, one of these countries, is preparing to close some churches.
The energy crisis that started with Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to affect Europe deeply.
The Kremlin has echoed the announcement that Russia will not fully resume gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline unless sanctions against Moscow are lifted.
Europe is preparing for the harshest winter of the last period after the Ukraine war and Russia’s cut off natural gas.
In this context, while many European countries are looking for an alternative to Russian gas, they are also discussing austerity measures.
According to the news in Sputnik International, one of these countries Swedenbegan closing some churches in an effort to lower energy costs.
Such measures are being discussed in many parts of Sweden, especially in the south, where energy prices are highest, Markus Dahlberg, head of the Swedish Church’s cultural heritage department, told Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
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Dahlberg gave the following statements in his statement to the newspaper;
‘There are many churches located in the countryside. These churches have smaller congregations. This means that it will be a huge burden for them to take care of them.’
Andreas Månsson, of the Lund diocese, announced that 150 of the diocese’s 540 churches could be closed completely or partially this winter to save energy.
Russian state energy company Gazprom announced in April that it would suspend natural gas flow to GasTerra, which refuses to pay in rubles for the Natural Gas it supplies.
GasTerra, on the other hand, made a statement regarding the ruble payments and stated that Gazprom’s payment obligations for Russian natural gas would not be fulfilled.
Gazprom had also cut off gas supplies to Finland, which had previously refused to pay in rubles.
WHICH COUNTRIES ARE ON THE LIST?
With the decree signed by Putin, the list of ‘unfriendly countries’ became official in the past weeks.
The list published by the Russian government included the USA and all EU countries.
Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan were also on the list.
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