Putin has signed a decree on the transition to payment for natural gas in rubles, will Europe pay?
On March 31, 2022, Putin signed a decree to switch to paying for Russian natural gas supplied to "unfriendly countries" in rubles. According to Russian media, the decree comes into force on April 1, 2022.
"Refusal or non-payment in rubles will indicate non-performance of contracts, which may be the reason for the suspension of Russian gas supplies," Putin was quoted as saying. Foreign companies have to open ruble accounts in Russian banks to pay for gas supplies.
However, the day before, Putin talked about gas contracts with German Chancellor Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Draghi. After these talks, the first details of the new payment mechanism appeared, according to which foreign companies will not have to pay for gas in rubles directly.
According to details published by foreign media, it was reported that the companies will pay in the currency of Gazprombank, which is not under sanctions, and the bank in the Moscow Stock Exchange will exchange currency for rubles. Thus, European buyers may not feel the change.
It will be recalled that the European Union, the G7 countries, Great Britain, Poland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, and other countries have stated that they will not pay for gas in rubles.
According to Reuters, citing its own sources, the European Commission is preparing new sanctions against Russia in connection with the invasion intoUkraine. However, the scale of the new sanctions will depend on Russia's position on payments for Russian gas in rubles. This was reported by Reuters, citing its own sources. A new package of sanctions may be ready next week.