Germany is better prepared for Russian gas stoppages - ministry

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is far better prepared for gas supply stoppages than it was in the past, a spokesperson for Germany's Economy Ministry said after Gazprom announced deliveries via its Nord Stream pipeline would be stopped indefinitely.

"We have no particular comment to make (on Gazprom's announcement), but we have seen Russia's unreliability in past weeks and so have continued to take measures to reinforce our independence from Russian energy imports," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"We are significantly better prepared than we were a few months ago," the spokesperson added. "These are difficult times but we will step up our preparations. Further big efforts are needed, but we are on course to deal with the situation."

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Kirsti Knolle)