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Putin: ‘Unfriendly’ nations to pay roubles for gas
STORY: Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday (March 23) that Russia will seek payment in roubles for gas sales from so called “unfriendly” countries. His comments sent European gas prices soaring on concerns the move would exacerbate the region’s energy crunch.”In the last few weeks there were unlawful measures taken against Russia by a number of Western countries to freeze Russian assets. By doing this the collective West has undermined the reliability of their currencies.”Russian gas accounts for around 40% of Europe’s total consumption. The possibility a change of currency could throw that trade into disarray.Putin said the government and central bank had one week to come up with a solution on how to move these operations into roubles, and ordered gas giant Gazprom to make the corresponding changes to gas contracts.According to Gazprom, 58% of its sales of natural gas to Europe and other countries as of Jan. 27 were settled in euros. U.S. dollars accounted for about 39% of gross sales and sterling around 3%.The European Commission has said it plans to cut EU dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and end its reliance on Russian supplies of the fuel “well before 2030.”But unlike the United States and Britain, EU states have not agreed to sanction Russia’s energy sector.Russia’s list of “unfriendly” countries corresponds to those that have imposed sanctions on it.
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