Russian gas flows to Europe despite Putin's deadline of payment in roubles

Russian gas was flowing to Europe on Friday (April 1) in spite of the deadline set by Russian President Vladimir Putin for foreign buyers to pay for Russian gas in roubles. This is Moscow's strongest threat in reaction to Western sanctions imposed in the aftermath of Ukraine invasion.

Putin signed an order setting a Friday deadline for buyers from “unfriendly” countries to pay for gas using roubles or be cut off, a demand Western customers have rejected as an attempt to rewrite contracts that call for payment in euros. Germany, the biggest buyer, called it “blackmail,” and had warned this week of a potential emergency if supplies were curtailed.

But there was no sign on Friday of an immediate interruption. Flows remained steady through two of the three main pipelines bringing Russian gas into Europe – Nord Stream 1 across the Baltic Sea, and into Slovakia over Ukraine.

Also Read | US warns against rising oil imports, New Delhi continues to buy Russian oil

Flows through the other main route, the Yamal-Europe pipeline over Belarus, had reversed direction, now bringing gas from Germany to Poland, but this occurs occasionally and did not necessarily indicate a new policy.

Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas giant, said it was continuing to supply Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from consumers that were down only fractionally from Thursday.

A source had told Reuters that some contracts involved gas being delivered before payments were due, suggesting the taps might not be turned off immediately.

After failing to capture a single major Ukrainian city in five weeks of war, Russia says it has shifted its focus to the southeast, where it has backed separatists since 2014.

The area includes the port of Mariupol, scene of the war’s worst humanitarian emergency, where the United Nations believes thousands of people have died after more than a month under Russian siege and relentless bombardment.

(With inputs from agencies)