On Thursday, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin said that as per the newly signed decree regarding trading of natural gas all unfriendly countries need to open accounts in Russian banks to pay in rubles for Russian gas.
The statement of Putin on Thursday:
“Today, I signed a decree which sets the rules for trading in Russian natural gas with the so-called unfriendly states. We suggest that counter-parties in these countries use a very simple and transparent scheme in order to buy Russian gas they need to open ruble accounts in Russian banks, and payments should come from these accounts,” Putin said on Thursday.
The new rules will take effect tomorrow, April 1. furthermore, the Putin said:
“If these payments are not made, we shall deem this as non-performance on the part of the buyers and that will lead to consequences. Nobody gives us anything for free and we’re not about to be charitable,”
In addition to this, the Putin said that all active contracts will be suspended, if the buyers are not willing to pay in rubles.