Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that demanded countries that import energy from Russia to pay for it in rubles (the Russian currency) by opening accounts with a state-linked bank, if not the supplies will stop and they will be “breaching” their contract, according to The Metro.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe has been trying to end its reliance on Russian gas but to do so would take years to fully cut the reliance.
Any further disruption to imports from Russia will add further strain to the gas crisis in Europe, and arguably the world, as petrol prices are rising.
Putin said:
“In order to buy Russian natural gas, they must open ruble accounts in Russian banks. It is from these accounts that payments will be made for gas delivered starting from tomorrow.
If such payments are not made, we will consider this a default on the part of buyers, with all the ensuing consequences.
Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either – that is, existing contracts will be stopped.”