Putin signed a decree on the rules for the sale of gas to unfriendly countries

Russia offered to buyers of gas from "unfriendly countries" a new payment scheme: it involves a mandatory opening of an account in rubles at the Russian bank, RBC reports . Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding decree. Gas purchase contracts will be stopped in case of refusal to pay in rubles.

According to the interlocutor of the publication, "payment from the buyer to Gazprom will have to be made exclusively in rubles."

On March 30, the official representative of the Federal Republic of Germany Steffen Hybesteite said that Germany would continue to pay for gas supplies from Russia in euros or dollars, as provided for in contracts. This issue was discussed during the telephone conversation of German Chancellor Olaf Sholts and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to a representative of the German government, Putin notified the Chancellor that from April 1, gas supplies should be paid in rubles, but nothing would change for European partners under the agreements. "

The representative of the chancellor described the scheme proposed by Putin, as follows: "Payments will still be sent to the euro and, as usual, transfer to Gazprombank, to which the sanctions do not apply. Then the bank converts money into rubles." He noted that Scholz during a conversation with Putin asked to state this proposal in writing. The Kremlin’s statement about the conversation says that the discussion of the topic will continue, the details are not given there.

The EU countries have previously repeatedly stated that they do not intend to pay in rubles, noting that the requirement to violate the contracts. Putin previously stated that after freezing the reserves of the Central Bank in the West - due to the so -called "special operation" in Ukraine - to the dollar and the euro there is no trust. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that in case of refusal to pay for gas in rubles, Russia would not "supply gas for free."