Italy to be able to abandon Russian gas in 1.5 years

Italy may become independent of Russian gas supplies in a year and a half, RIA Novosti quotes Roberto Cingolani, Italian Minister for Ecological Transition, Report informs.

"Compared to all other European countries, our advantage is that we have five gas pipelines... We are strengthening the southern and eastern routes, there is an agreement with Algeria. Next week and in these days we will go to other countries, especially the African region, and "we expect to achieve about two-thirds of what we need in the coming weeks. Obviously, this gas will not come instantly. But we believe that by the second half of next year we can indeed achieve almost complete independence," said Cingolani, who arrived in DR Congo on Thursday together with the Italian foreign minister after a visit to Angola.

According to him, Italy has set the task of replacing the volume of Russian gas supplies of 29 billion cubic meters with new sources and an increase in the processing of liquefied gas in regasifiers.

"We have three regasifiers in Italy. We will add a pair that will be floating, because they should not stay forever, only for the period that we need," the minister said.