Following a video conference meeting, the energy ministers of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) and EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson issued a joint statement on Monday 28 March rejecting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand that Russian gas deliveries be paid for in roubles.
The statement reaffirms that the contracts agreed for gas deliveries must be respected - as most of these contracts explicitly stipulate payment in euros or dollars - and underlines the intention of the G7 partners to call on companies based in their countries not to accede to Russian demand.
Reacting to the statement on Tuesday 29 March, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted on payment in roubles for Russian gas delivered to Europe, as “the situation has changed in the context of an economic war against Russia”.
He also warned that failure to make payments would lead to a halt in deliveries, raising the threat of gas shortages in Europe.
Vladimir Putin has instructed his government, the Russian Central Bank and Russian gas giant Gazprom to submit a report on Thursday on the implementation of the rouble payment system.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/10v (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)