The EU has joined Putin's play on words to pay for gas in rubles.
The European Union is actually ready to allow paying for Russian gas for the new Kremlin scheme, previously called a violation of sanctions. According to Bloomberg, citing its sources.
“European companies are looking for ways to continue imports from Gazprom. The European Union intends to offer its gas importers a solution to avoid violating sanctions when buying fuel in Russia, but At the same time, effectively meet the demands of President Vladimir Putin to pay in rubles, “the newspaper writes.
rubles .
The scheme is confusing: You can still pay in euros, but to a special account with Gazprombank, and there you need to open an account in rubles, where the bank itself converts foreign currency payments.
The scheme still had two questions:
- When is the commitment considered: when are the euros transferred or when are the rubles credited?
- Is the transition to a new payment scheme a violation of EU financial sanctions against Russia?
The European Commission said yes, this is a direct violation , but did not publish any official explanation.
Read also: The European Union intends to ease the package of sanctions on Russian oil exports
Now this gap will be filled by a written recommendation, which will also answer the first question. According to Bloomberg, the document will say that opening accounts with Gazprombank is not prohibited, but gas buyers must clearly state that they consider the payment made at the time of transfer of euros or dollars, and not after converting currency into rubles.
< The EU is in a hurry to clarify its position before the next deadline for payment of Russian gas, on which the EU depends almost 40%.
Read also: Russia may cut off gas to Europe on May 21
As you know, some countries have allowed companies to pay under the new scheme, others have refused . So far, twenty European companies have opened relevant accounts with Gazprombank.
Putin has cut off gas to those who unequivocally refused and whose payment deadline has expired – Poland and Bulgaria.
