Status: 03/30/2022 12:55 p.m
There are signs of a slight easing in the debate about the payment of gas deliveries in rubles demanded by Russia. The Kremlin has announced that the transition should be gradual.
Russia will not immediately implement the required payment for gas supplies in rubles. According to the Russian Presidential Office, the changeover should take place gradually. Payments in the respective national currencies are unavoidable, however, since the dollar has served its purpose as a global reserve currency.
The change was originally supposed to go into effect tomorrow. However, the delivery of gas and payment are separate processes, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The instruction by President Vladimir Putin to switch to ruble payments is therefore not yet valid for this Thursday. Putin wants to meet with representatives of the Russian gas giant Gazprom and the central bank on the day to be informed about the current state of affairs.
EU and G7 refuse payment in rubles
Russia had caused a massive dispute with its announcement that it only wanted to deliver gas and oil against payment in rubles. The European Union (EU) and the G7 states then declared that they did not want to comply. Because the contracts were agreed in euros or dollars.
The federal government also made its opinion clear. The demand “represents a breach of private supply contracts,” says a recently published text on the gas emergency plan.
After Russia maintained the threat of a possible delivery stop to the West and thus aroused fears of a supply crisis, Economics Minister Robert Habeck called the so-called early warning level in the morning. This serves as a precaution, said the Green politician. “It is important to emphasize that security of supply is guaranteed,” he added.