When it comes to oil from Kazakhstan, Germany wants to know how Russia benefits.

Germany has announced that it will not be purchasing any petroleum oil from Russia this year as part of its effort to wean itself off of its former primary energy source. Russian influence over Berlin would be mitigated by an oil agreement with Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has sent its first cargo of crude oil to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline system this week as the German government seeks to secure more reliable supplies of oil for a c....