“Payment in Rubles”
How knowledgeable RIA Novosti is a resource in the industry, there are three main gas importers in Greece – DEPA Commerce, Mytilineos, Prometheus Gas. Deliveries from Russia account for 45% to 55% of imports, depending on the season. Experts believe that in the coming years it will not be possible to replace Russian gas with other sources.
“All Greek purchasing companies have switched to paying in rubles,” the source said.
According to him, in the country “the deadline for April gas supply comes on 25 May.”
We need money to switch to a special account on May 23. It takes two days to convert to rubles and transfer funds from one account to another. To do this, it is necessary to receive payment in euros on May 23, ”explained the interlocutor of the agency.
A day ago, Athens news agency AMNA reported that DEPA has agreed with Gazprom for April deliveries in line with the European Commission’s May 19 mandate.
“There will be no interruptions in supplies, everything is fine,” said the source, commenting on the media reports that if the Russian gas supply is cut, the Greek authorities will have to cut the electricity due to insufficient capacity.
additional instructions
On the eve of Bulgarian Energy Minister Aleksandar Nikolov declaration In an interview with bTV, he plans to discuss the issue of paying for Russian gas with the European Commission.
“This is a very good question that we will raise at European Commission level. The level of solidarity and unity on this issue should be as high as possible. If there are exceptions, we will consider them and evaluate the impact of their impact on the entire system. “At the moment, the European Commission has made it clear that paying for gas in rubles is a violation of sanctions.”
According to him, information on sanctions is not yet sufficient.
“There is a meeting called the General Purchasing Task Force, so I expect everything to become much clearer in the middle of next week. Concrete steps are certainly expected, especially at the General Supply and General Procurement level. There will be additional instructions,” he said.
He recalled that Berlin allows German gas importers to open an account with Gazprombank in rubles if payments are not made in Russian currency. Also, the Italian government has received clarifications from the European Commission on how to buy it without violating sanctions.
Nikolov emphasized that the relations between Gazprom and Bulgargaz have always been “purely commercial and legal” and that the negotiations between them did not stop. But he also believes that Russia is “waging war and being aggressive” and that Gazprom is “used as a political tool to create stress”. The minister is also confident that the Russian Federation is an “unpredictable partner”.
The Bulgarian Energy Minister confirmed that two tankers from the USA are already en route to the countries, their arrival is expected between 8-23 June. At the same time, Nikolov refused to reveal the price of the blue fuel and the name of the supplier, but “at the time the agreement was signed in the United States, the price of gas was better than that of Gazprom Export. ”
Converting the payment into rubles
On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the transfer of payment in rubles for the export of Russian gas to non-friendly countries. Then he signed a corresponding decree, saying that if “unfriendly” countries do not pay in rubles from April 1, it will be considered the default in gas contracts.
“No one is selling us anything for free. And we won’t either. So the existing contracts will be stopped, ”the Russian leader emphasized.
According to him, “In a situation where the financial system of Western countries is used as a weapon, companies from these countries refuse to fulfill contracts with Russian banks, businesses, individuals, assets in dollars and euros are frozen, it does nothing. It makes sense to use the currencies of these countries” .
According to the new plan, Gazprombank opens special currency and ruble accounts for settlements of foreign customers. The buyer will be able to transfer money to the first account in the currency specified in the contract for the supply of blue fuel, and the bank will sell it in Moskovskaya. Exchangethen paying the gas buyer’s account in credit rubles and Gazprom from him.
On April 27, Gazprom announced that it had completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgarian company Bulgargaz, for failing to pay in rubles on time.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.