Russia wants payment in rubles
Putin threatens further gas supply stops
4/27/2022, 5:19 p.m
Poland and Bulgaria will have to do without Russian gas in the future. This has nothing to do with blackmail, says Kremlin spokesman Peskov after the state-owned company Gazprom stopped deliveries. Nevertheless, he warns other “unfriendly countries”: Those who don’t pay in rubles face a similar threat.
After the gas supply stop for Poland and Bulgaria, Russia threatened other countries with similar steps if the payments to the state-owned company Gazprom were not made in rubles. A corresponding decree by President Vladimir Putin will be implemented, said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax news agency. In March, Putin instructed that “unfriendly states”, including all EU members, only pay for Russian gas in rubles.
At the same time, Peskow rejected accusations by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that this was an “extortion tool”. “It’s not blackmail,” said Peskov. Russia only requires customers to open accounts with Gazprombank to process payments. Accordingly, customers can continue to pay in euros or dollars there as before, the bank converts the amount and transfers the rubles to Gazprom. There are no additional burdens, said Peskow, not even through exchange rates.
At the same time, Putin’s confidante made it clear that Russia insisted on the system and would otherwise stop deliveries. The state budget is prepared for any failures. “Of course, everything is included, all risks are forecast, the appropriate measures are taken.” Individual deputies and senators in Russia had already called for a complete cessation of energy supplies to the West in order to stop “heating” the “unfriendly states”.
Peskov now said that Russia would prefer to hear constructive proposals from the EU on how future relations could be shaped using political-diplomatic methods. Russia repeatedly criticizes the fact that the West – above all the EU and the USA – want to solve the conflict in Ukraine with arms deliveries and not with negotiations.
Poland is considering contractual penalties
Poland, meanwhile, confirmed that after Gazprom stopped gas deliveries on Wednesday, significantly less gas is flowing into the country. The governments in Warsaw and in Sofia, Bulgaria, were confident that they would be able to cope with the stop in deliveries. The two countries’ contracts with Gazprom expire at the end of the year anyway. Poland had also made itself largely independent of Russian gas in recent years. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki even threatened contractual penalties against Russia.
In Bulgaria, comparatively small amounts are involved, which are mainly used for heating in winter. Neighboring countries like Greece offered help. “We will not bow to such blackmail,” said Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. Other countries such as Austria, Hungary, Italy or the Czech Republic did not report any interruption in deliveries.
According to Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, Russian gas will flow to Germany as usual. The federal government had also refused a payment in rubles and referred to existing contracts. Nevertheless, he cannot rule out that Germany will also be hit, said Habeck.