BRUSSELS, May 2 (Reuters) – Using Russia’s payment system to convert Russian gas import payments into rubles would represent a violation of European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, repeated the European Commissioner for Energy on Monday.
Energy ministers from the 27 EU member countries agreed at a meeting in Brussels on Monday that opening a ruble account with Gazprombank, demanded by the Kremlin, contravenes contracts signed in euros or dollars, added Kadri Simson.
“Paying in rubles through the conversion mechanism operated by Russian state authorities and through a dedicated account at Gazprombank constitutes a violation of sanctions and cannot be accepted,” she said during a press conference.
The European Commissioner for Energy did not specify how Member States and importing companies intended to settle their next Russian gas bills, while Gazprom GAZP.MM cut off the tap to Poland and Bulgaria, invoking the refusal of these countries to pay in rubles.
(Kate Abnett report, French version Tangi Salaün, edited by Matthieu Protard)