Russia gives Finland an ultimatum: “Don’t pay in rubles – no gas”

Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat on April 30 said that the energy group Gazprom Russia has set a deadline of May 20 for Finnish authorities to give a final response on whether the country will pay for gas in rubles.

A new payment mechanism for “unfriendly countries” was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March in response to Western countries’ sanctions against Russia over a military attack on Ukraine.

Finland’s European affairs minister, Tytti Tuppurainen, said on April 28 that Helsinki would not accept “this blackmail” and that Finnish energy company Gasum would abide by previous agreements with Russia. .

“We will not pay with ruble. Companies have to do this within the framework of their own contracts with their Russian partners,” she said.

The Helsingin Sanomat newspaper reported that the flow of Russian gas to Finland and “most of Europe” could stop on May 21 because the deadline is the same for many countries.

Unlike the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Finland’s dependence on Russian gas is relatively small. Last year, gas accounted for only about 5% of total energy consumption, and gas-dependent households were protected by emergency measures. However, businesses, especially chemical and woodworking companies, that use gas as a raw material, may be in a more vulnerable position. They’ve been preparing for the worst for a while.

The Neste Fuel Refinery – whose Porvoo refinery is one of the country’s largest gas users – has been experimenting with replacing natural gas with propane. According to Neste chief executive Peter Vanacker, the company is “increasingly confident” that it will be able to manage the supply cut.

In April, the European Commission said there could be ways to pay for Russian gas in rubles without violating sanctions. Despite that, several Western nations have refused to do so, saying they do not want to “finance Russia’s war”.

At the end of April, Gazprom announced Stop exporting gas to Poland and Bulgaria after both countries refused to pay in rubles. However, according to Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov, Warsaw continues to buy gas from Russia through reverse flow.

A few days ago, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that some European companies importing natural gas from Russia had agreed to Moscow’s payment plan, but did not want to say it publicly.

Previously, Russia supplied gas via pipelines to a total of 23 European countries.