Russia stops supplying gas to Finland from May 21st

Russia will lock the valve gas for Finland from May 21 – Photo: REUTERS

“It is regrettable that our contracted gas supplies will be discontinued,” Gasum chief executive Mika Wiljanen told AFP on May 20. The gas supply contract between Russia and Finland will expire at 7:00 am on May 21, local time.

In April 2022, Russian energy company Gasprom asked countries buying gas to pay in their local currency instead of euros. However, Gasum denied this request and recently announced that he would take the case to court.

Talking about this issue, on May 20, the Kremlin of Russia did not elaborate, but emphasized that there is no such thing as Moscow providing free gas.

Even so, Gasum said preparations were made in advance and there would be no disruption in the gas system. About 8% of Finnish gas is imported from Russia.

In an effort to reduce energy dependence on Russia, the Finnish government previously announced that it had signed an agreement to lease a liquefied natural gas (LNG) station from Excelerate Energy in the US.

Finland recently joined Sweden in applying to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Russia has repeatedly warned Helsinki that applying to join NATO is a “major mistake” that could have serious consequences.

In the latest statement, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also announced that Moscow is preparing corresponding measures to respond to Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO. According to Shoigu, NATO’s admission of the two countries increases the risk to the Russian border.

About energy, French newspaper Les Echos Recently, citing data from Citi analysts, Russia has won the “energy war” with gas revenue of up to $100 billion this year.

“Thanks to the increase in gas prices, Russia can receive $ 100 billion from gas supplies to Europe this year, almost twice as much as before, when gas prices were already very high,” the French newspaper wrote. .