Bloc sees payment switch as breach of current contracts
\n BERLIN
\nGermany, which currently holds the G7 presidency, said the demand by Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin was \u201ca unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements.\u201d
\nGerman Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Monday said the Group of Seven (G7) major economies dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s demand to pay for gas in rubles.
\nDW reported, Putin had said \u201cunfriendly\u201d countries would have to pay for Russian gas in Russia\u2019s own currency. \u201cAll G7 [energy] ministers agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements,\u201d said Habeck, whose country holds the G7 presidency. \u201cPayment in rubles is not acceptable and … we call on the companies concerned not to comply with Putin\u2019s demand,\u201d Habeck said.
\nHabeck added that Putin had his \u201cback against the wall\u201d to make such demand. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also insisted that \u201cthe contracts we know lay down the euro as payment currency and the companies will pay according to the contracts they have signed.\u201d
\nSo far, European states and companies have paid for gas supplies in euros and US dollars. Earlier on Monday, reporters asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov if Russia could cut natural gas supplies to European customers if they rejected the demand. \u201cWe clearly aren\u2019t going to supply gas for free,\u201d Peskov said.\u201dIn our situation, it\u2019s hardly possible and feasible to engage in charity for Europe,\u2019\u2019 Peskov said.
\nRussia will take decisions in due course should European countries refuse to pay in the Russian currency, he said before Habeck\u2019s statement. Russian news agency RIA quoted Russian lawmaker Ivan Abramov as saying a refusal by the G7 to pay for Russian gas in rubles would lead to an unequivocal halt in supplies.
\nBesides the apparent tit-for-tat after the West imposed a massive trove of sanctions on Russia, Moscow\u2019s demand for rubles is also seen as a bid to save its economy. Economists believe that the decision could help the struggling Russian currency, which has fallen massively in value following news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, followed by Western sanctions.
\nPertinently mention that EU seeking to cut dependency on Russian gas. With Europe getting 40% of its gas and 25% of its oil from Russia, European countries have been racing to reduce their reliance on Russian energy imports in light of the war in Ukraine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bloc sees payment switch as breach of current contracts BERLIN Germany, which currently holds the G7 presidency, said the demand by Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin was \u201ca unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements.\u201d German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Monday said the Group of Seven (G7) major economies dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5454,5455,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-252059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-g7","9":"tag-gas-payment","10":"tag-russia"},"yoast_head":"\n