Germany said it will build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on its coast on the North Sea, saying it seeks to reduce its reliance on imports of Russian gas following Moscow’s special military operation in Donbass.

“It is necessary to reduce our dependence on Russian gas as quickly as possible” in light of Moscow’s aggression, Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.

Germany was financing the project with the state-owned Dutch gas company Gasunie and Germany energy group RWE.

Liquefying natural gas makes it easier to transport, especially between countries that are not connected by pipelines, which is why the United States exports so much LNG to Europe.

Germany imported close to 55% of its gas needs from Russia until the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine. Currently, it does not have any LNG terminals.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck had earlier claimed that his country can “guarantee” security of its energy supplies even without Russian gas or oil.

“We will buy more gas, but also coal from other countries,” he told ZDF national broadcaster, declaring that Germany was too dependent on Russia for energy supplies.

Habeck said he expected oil and gas prices to continue rising for now in light of the Russian operation in Donbass, hoping prices would later fall back down to a manageable level.