MOSCOW (Realist English). Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed in the shortest possible time to convert into rubles payments for the Russian naturalgas supplied to unfriendly countries. The Head of State recalled that over the past few weeks, a number of Western countries have taken illegitimate decisions on the so-called freezing of Russian assets, and this “collective West” has actually drawn a line under the reliability of its currencies, double-crossed the trust in these currencies.
“It is quite obvious that in this regard, it makes no sense for us to deliver our goods to the European Union, to the United States and receive payment in dollars, euros, and a number of other currencies. Therefore, I have decided in the shortest possible time to implement a set of measures to transfer payments – let’s start with this, with our natural gas – to transfer payments for our natural gas supplied to the so-called unfriendly countries to Russian rubles, that is, to abandon the use of all compromised currencies in such transactions,” he said at the meeting with members of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The Head of State stressed that Russia will continue to supply natural gas in the volumes and the prices according to previously concluded contracts, as Moscow values its reputation.
“Unlike some colleagues, we value our business reputation as a reliable partner and supplier. The changes will affect only the payment currency, which will be changed to Russian rubles. I ask the Cabinet of Ministers to give an appropriate directive to Gazprom on amendments to existing contracts. At the same time, all foreign consumers should be given the opportunity to perform the necessary operations, and it is necessary to create for them an understandable, transparent procedure for making payments, including the purchase of Russian rubles on our domestic foreign exchange market,” Putin explained.
Political analyst Marat Bashirov believes that the President has made a serious step: “Buyers can refuse, but then they won’t get it. And we seem to be ready to sell, but if they start buying for rubles, then the United States loses leverage on these same buyers. And if they refuse to buy, then the collapse of the European economy is inevitable, hundreds of thousands of Europeans will lose their jobs, and natural gas and electricity prices will increase significantly.”
