The Polish company PGNiG confirmed this Wednesday “the complete cessation of supply”. The EU says it is ready and is developing “a coordinated response”.
The Russian group Gazprom announced on Wednesday that it had suspended all its gas deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland, these two member countries of the European Union having not made any payment in rubles. In a statement, Gazprom said it had notified the Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and the Polish company PGNiG of the “suspension of gas deliveries from April 27 and until payment is madein rubles. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia would only accept payment for gas deliveries in its national currency.
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“On April 26, 2022, Gazprom informed (the Polish gas company) PGNiG of its intention to completely suspend deliveries under the Yamal contract (…) on April 27“, said the Polish company in a press release. “Today (Tuesday) Bulgargas EAD received notification that deliveries from Gazprom Export will be suspended from April 27, 2022“, also said a little later the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, while this Balkan country is more than 90% dependent on Russian gas.
The effects were not long in coming, PGNiG confirmed on Wednesday “the complete cessation of the supply of natural gas supplied by Gazprom under the Yamal contract“. “The situation does not affect the current supplies of PGNiG customers who receive the fuel in accordance with their requestthe company said in a statement. According to PGNiG, the shutdown of the supply “is a violation of the Yamal contract» and the company reserves «the right to seek reparations“. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country “will no longer need Russian gas at all from autumn“, considering that the cessation of deliveries constituted not only “a direct attackagainst Poland, but also an attack againstthe energy security of the whole of Europe, the food security of the whole of Europe“.
Bulgaria has denounced a “unacceptable blackmail“. This interruption, decided on the grounds of non-payment in rubles as demanded by Russia in response to Western sanctions, “constitutes a serious breach of contract“said Kiril Petkov, Prime Minister of the country, in front of the press. “We won’t give in to such a racket“.
Ready for any disruption
These two members of NATO and the European Union (EU), however, say they are prepared to obtain the missing gas from other sources. “There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes», Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa wrote on Twitter. “Since the first day of the warwe declared that we are ready for complete independence from Russian raw materials“, she added.
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“Actions to find alternative arrangements for the supply of natural gas and deal with the situation“have been undertaken, underlined for its part the Bulgarian government in a press release, ensuring that it does not foresee “at present» no consumption restrictions.
For its part, the EU had “preparedto an interruption of Russian gas and preparesa coordinated responsesaid European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday after Gazprom suspended deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland. “Gazprom’s announcement is another attempt by Russia to gas blackmail us. We are prepared for this scenario. We are developing our coordinated European response. Europeans can be sure that we stand united and in solidarity with the Member States affected“, she reacted on Twitter.
Payment in rubles
After the introduction of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin warned EU countries that their gas supply would be cut off if they did not pay in rubles from Russian accounts. Moscow clarified, however, that the price of gas remained denominated in the currency of the current contracts, most often in euros or dollars, and that customers would have to carry out a simple exchange transaction in Russia.
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“The Bulgarian party has fully fulfilled its obligations and made all payments required under the contract in due time“, reacted the government. And to denouncethe new two-step payment procedure proposed by the Russian side“. “It does not comply with the existing contract until the end of this year and presents significant risks for the Bulgarian side, in particular that of making payments without receiving any gas delivery from the Russian side.“, he added.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, claimed that Gazprom had taken the “good choice by suspending deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria. “This must also be done with regard to other unfriendly countries towards Russia, he said in a message on his Telegram account.
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