The West is forced to accept the purchase of Russian gas in rubles

According to Reuters, the European Commission (which President Ursula von der Leyen has until recently denied such a possibility) has sent a letter to the member states of the European Union. EUwhich states the option to pay for fuel from Russia in rubles, but still does not violate the sanctions imposed.

The document says that paying for gas in rubles “enables the Central Bank of Russia to be included in the transaction scheme, which would be in violation of EU sanctions”, however, the letter notes that the European gas companies can still accept the payment plan proposed by Russia.

The letter from the European Commission cites one of the possible schemes to pay for Russian-supplied fuel, under which gas-receiving companies open an account with a Russian bank, the currency of which can be convert to rubles, then payment will be made. The proposed mechanism eliminates the possibility that the funds transferred will be blocked by Western countries.

The authors of the letter made it clear that President Putin’s decree on payment for gas in rubles “does not rule out a payment process that allows companies from the EU not to violate the sanctions regime”.

Recently, the European Commission announced that Putin’s decree significantly changes the payment mechanism and creates a new legal situation that allows the Russian side to regulate the exchange rate for its own benefit.

At the same time, the European Commission does not have the power to prohibit or allow it to pay for gas in any form, including in rubles. The EU can only assess the compliance of businesses with legal norms, including sanctions, previously established by the European Union.

Mr. Igor Yushkov – a leading expert of the Russian National Fund for Energy Security, an expert at the Finance University of the Russian Government – noticed that the appearance of the EC letter showed signs of confusion among the world’s leaders. EC position is gradually decreasing.

According to Yushkov, it can be concluded that the EU has gradually actually agreed to Russian gas payment plans. After all, the initial rejection was to a certain extent a political decision, since from an economic point of view there were no particular objections.

Now the currency will be delivered to Gazprombank, it was this bank that participated in its implementation on the currency exchange, after which it was delivered to Gazprom. Here, even the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar and the euro does not bother gas buyers too much, it is just a headache for Gazprom, which takes care of the amount of revenue. from this coin. The leadership of European companies has never announced that they will not buy gas in rubles.

Partly because it sounds like an ultimatum: Either pay in rubles, or stop supplying gas. Moreover, the initiative to move payments into rubles comes from Mr. Putin, which is an added element of irritation for European politicians.

If it refuses Russian gas, Europe will suffer a huge shortage of gas, signs of this are already appearing. The power supply has begun to be interrupted, businesses that use gas as a chemical raw material will have to stop.

And there will be problems with the next heating season, because there will be a shortage of gas, and part of the industry will have to shut down to extend the heating season. In addition, in housing areas and social works, the temperature will have to be reduced from 20 – 22 degrees Celsius to 10-15 degrees.

Clearly, businesses have made it clear to officials that it is impossible to refuse Russian gas immediately, such a step would lead to the collapse of the European economy and a humanitarian catastrophe. No one can replace 150 billion cubic meters of Russian gas.

In short, this is a generally positive signal for the continuation of our gas business Russia.