Companies in the European Union (EU) can avoid the Russian requirement to receive gas payments in rubles without breaking sanctions by paying in euros or dollars that are then converted into Russian currency, the European Commission said.
In addition, the firms will have to look for additional conditions in the transactions such as a statement that they consider their contractual obligations to be complete once they have deposited the non-Russian coins.
Moscow has warned Europe that it risks having its gas supply cut off if it does not pay in rubles.
In March, he issued a decree proposing that energy buyers open accounts with Gazprombank to make payments in euros or dollars, which would then be converted into rubles.
The commission said that they must continue to pay in the currency agreed in their contracts with Gazprom, 97% corresponds to euros and/or dollars.
“Companies with contracts that stipulate payments in euros or dollars should not agree to Russian demands. This would be contrary to the sanctions in force”, mentioned a spokesman for the Commission.
In a consultative document sent to member states, the commission mentioned that Moscow’s proposal risks breaching EU sanctions, since it would put the actual execution of the purchase (once the payments are converted into rubles) in the hands of the Russian authorities.
However, the Russian decree necessarily prevents a payment process that complies with EU sanctions against Russia, the commission said. In the document, Brussels mentioned that there are options that could allow companies to continue paying for gas legally.
“EU companies can ask their Russian counterparts to fulfill their contractual obligations in the same way as before the adoption of the decree, that is, by depositing the amount due in euros or dollars,” the document states.
However, the procedure for obtaining exemptions from the decree’s requirements is still unclear, he said.
