A worker at a gas storage facility in Gronau, Germany. Archival photoMOSCOW, March 25The purchase of Russian gas in rubles would force Germany to circumvent EU sanctions against the Central Bank of Russia, Klaus Ernst, head of the German Bundestag committee on climate and energy, said in an interview with RBC. In such a scenario, Berlin will find itself in a situation that forces it to violate the restrictive measures against Moscow that the German side has introduced.
"Germany would have to receive rubles from the Russian Central Bank and thereby circumvent its own sanctions", Ernst said.
According to him, this would also run counter to existing contracts. The parliamentarian, however, admitted that the freezing of Russian assets abroad can also be regarded as a violation of agreements with Russia. «The problem is that the debate about stopping energy supplies from Russia is flaring up again,» the deputy added. wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4edfbd0eedf53604b8f41b522bb07548.jpg» />The Austrian chancellor called an immediate renunciation of Russian gas impossible The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with members of the government, said that Moscow was converting payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries into rubles, since it makes no sense to supply Russian goods to the European Union and the United States and receive payment in their currency . At the same time, the head of state announced the continuation of blue fuel supplies in the volumes and at prices fixed in the contracts, since the state values its reputation. On the morning of February 24, Russia launched a military special operation to demilitarize Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Defense, the armed forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. In response, the Western countries approved a series of new sanctions against Russia, and in Europe statements about the need to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources began to sound louder. rubles: what will change the new procedure for settlements with Europe