Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country will refuse to pay for Russian gas in currencies, including the dollar and the euro, and that it will collect supplies from “unfriendly” countries, including those of the European Union (EU), only in rubles.

“I have decided to implement as soon as possible a series of measures to transfer payments for our natural gas by so-called unfriendly countries to rubles,” he said at a meeting with members of the Russian government.

“I ask the government to give proper instructions to Gazprom to amend the existing contracts. At the same time, all foreign consumers must have the opportunity to carry out the necessary operations”, he added.

The Russian government adopted on the 8th a list of unfriendly countries and territories, which includes the US and Canada, all EU member countries, the UK, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

In Putin’s opinion, the West, by the decision to freeze Russian assets – the Central Bank’s foreign exchange reserve, for example – actually declared a suspension of payments to Moscow and put an end to the reliability of its currencies.

“Over the last few weeks, as you know, various Western countries have made illegitimate decisions about freezing Russian assets, and this collective West has actually drawn a line under the reliability of their currencies…,” he said.

The head of state stated that both “the United States and the European Union have declared, in principle, a real breach of their obligations to Russia.”

“And now everyone in the world knows that obligations in dollars and euros may not be met,” he summarized.

Russian gas accounts for 40% of EU consumption.

Reducing imports of Russian gas is especially pressing for the countries of central and southeastern Europe, as they are among the most dependent on Moscow to supply their energy needs and, therefore, among the most exposed to a possible cut in supplies.

In a message intended to reassure these and other countries, Putin assured that Russia will continue to supply them with gas according to the volumes and prices stipulated in the contracts already in force.

“I want to separately emphasize that Russia will, of course, continue to supply natural gas in accordance with the volumes and prices set in previously agreed contracts,” he said.

The price of TTF natural gas for April delivery on the Dutch market rose to 118.75 euros per MWh during Putin’s speech.