Four European gas buyers have already paid for supplies in rubles as Russia demanded and further cutoffs if others refuse the Kremlin’s requirement aren’t likely until the second half of May, when the next payments are due, according to a person close to Russian gas giant Gazprom.
Ten European companies have already opened the accounts at Gazprombank needed to meet President Vladimir Putin’s payment demands, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters.
Supplies to Poland and Bulgaria were cut off Wednesday after they refused Gazprom’s proposed mechanism for ruble payments, which the gas giant says does not violate European Union sanctions, according to the person. Russia supplies gas via pipelines to 23 European countries.
After the EU imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow demanded that it be paid in rubles for shipments starting April 1. But the bloc told member states that the mechanism the Kremlin proposed, which required opening euro and ruble accounts with state-controlled Gazprombank, would violate the sanctions, Bloomberg reports.
