Twenty European gas buyers opened accounts with Gazprombank - Bloomberg

Another ten European gas buyers have opened accounts with Gazprombank, in total the number of importers willing to pay for gas in rubles has increased to twenty, Bloomberg reports citing a source. According to him, another 14 companies requested from the bank a list of documents required to open an account. To name those who have opened or are going to open accounts in Gazprombank, the interlocutor of the agency refused.

Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that “most gas importers have already opened ruble accounts with Gazprombank,” while the largest German importer made payments in rubles. The largest buyer of Russian gas in Germany is Uniper. The company denies having paid for the gas in rubles. The representative of Uniper declined to comment on the information about opening an account with Gazprombank.

Contrary to statements by EU officials, Draghi believes that European companies can pay for Russian gas in rubles without violating sanctions. “There is no official statement about what constitutes a violation of the sanctions,” he said. “Nobody said anything about whether the ruble payments violate the sanctions.”

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Gazprom was trying to convince European partners that they could pay for gas supplies without violating sanctions. He sent them a letter in which he explained that Vladimir Putin's new decree, published on May 4, "clarifies the procedure" for settlements in rubles, proposed at the end of March.