Before making his decision, Vladimir Putin also spoke to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
Berlin Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has issued a decree effective April 1 requiring western states to open accounts with Gazprombank in order to continue receiving Russian gas. Otherwise, deliveries to the “unfriendly” countries would be stopped, Putin said on Russian state television on Thursday.
Initially, the West assumed that Russia would only accept rubles in the future. In fact, European companies can continue to pay in dollars or euros initially, according to a decree signed by Putin. Gazprombank International is the key.
The principle: Customers of the Kremlin-controlled gas group Gazprom in Europe transfer amounts in euros to accounts at the Luxembourg branch. The bank then arranges for the sums to be exchanged for rubles in an auction on the Moscow Stock Exchange. Gazprom then receives payment for the gas exports from the bank in Russian currency.
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