In statements to the media on Monday, the senior official said that Moscow is studying in detail the scenario it foresees for the delivery of fuel in exchange for Russian currency to the nations that have applied sanctions against it.
The head of the Kremlin press office did not provide details on the country’s response measures in case of refusal to pay in rubles, saying that problems will be resolved as they arise.
“But the fact that we will not supply gas for free is unequivocal. That can be said with absolute certainty. In our situation, doing a pan-European charity is unlikely or infeasible,” he assured.
President Vladimir Putin ordered that he be informed before next Thursday about the measures that will be taken for the implementation of the new decree to change the currency of payment in gas export contracts to rubles.
“It is absolutely clear that, in this sense, supplying our products to the European Union, to the United States and receiving payment in dollars, euros and other currencies does not make any sense to us,” the president said on March 23.
He stressed that Russia will continue to deliver fuel to other states “in accordance with the volumes and prices stipulated in the contracts,” an official statement said.
“We, unlike some (of) our partners, value our reputation as a reliable business partner and exporter,” he said.
The head of state stated that consumers from other countries will also be able to carry out gas transactions in rubles, after Moscow settles its commitments in the Russian currency with nations considered unfriendly.
The national authorities approved economic and financial provisions to deal with the more than 6,300 measures applied against the country, most of them after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and members of the European Union have imposed more than 3,000 new sanctions on Russia, targeting key sectors of trade, finance, energy, exports, aviation and space.
The restrictions included the partial disconnection of Russian banks from the Swift international payment system, the closure of airspace for its airlines, the paralysis of the international reserves of the Central Bank of Russia and the embargo on oil purchases by Washington.
mgt/mml
