Reaction of European Leaders to the Statement of ‘We Will Sell Natural Gas with Russian Rubles’

The statements included that Vladimir Putin would only accept Russian rubles in exchange for the natural gas and oil he sold after the embargoes. European leaders, on the other hand, stated that this situation is contrary to their current contracts, and they did not accept this decision.

Natural gas prices rose after Russian President Putin's "payment in rubles" statement on Wednesday, and the Russian ruble appreciated against the US dollar. The leaders of the European Union, who met in Brussels yesterday, made statements on the subject. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, "There are contracts signed, and the currency of payments for deliveries is part of these contracts. These are also written in euros or dollars. This is basically a breach of contract." Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi sent the same message to Putin with the words "This is basically a breach of contract", referring to the contracts. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said, in harsher and more assertive words, "No one will pay in rubles". Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated that Putin's attempt to circumvent the EU's sanctions against Russia was a failure and said, "We will never allow our sanctions to be circumvented. The period when energy could be used as a threat to us is over." You may also be interested in: https://ieconomy.io/en/russia-will-pay-its-debts-to-non-friendly-countries-in-rubles/