Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday threatened to end gas contracts if customers failed to pay in rubles from April 1. Contracts that state otherwise will be terminated.
Earlier this week, Russia stated that this decision would be delayed. But the Russian president has now said that he has signed a decree demanding that the Russian money be paid from tomorrow, April 1, in the Russian currency, the ruble.
“The sanctions that the West is now imposing have been prepared for a long time,” Putin said. He also argues that the United States benefits most economically from the current instability on the world stage.
Read also. What if Putin really turned off the gas? “Then Europe will have a huge problem.” †
Italy and Germany had just announced that they had received a guarantee that gas purchases could be handled in euros, but the Russian president opposed this shortly afterwards.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz reacted decisively. “Germany will continue to pay for Russian gas in euros and dollars,” Schulz said. He still hopes for independence from Russian gas. “But that will take longer than until the end of the year.”
Read also. Putin has already shut off the gas tap to Europe: the consequences have been deadly †
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has now admitted in Berlin that Germany and France are taking into account the possibility of halting Russian gas imports. “There may be a situation where there will be no more Russian gas tomorrow (…) It is up to us to prepare for this scenario and we do that,” he said in a joint press conference with his German counterpart Robert. Habik.
