Gas compressor station MOSCOW, Apr 20Bloomberg reports, citing sources, that Italy will refuse to comply with Russian conditions for paying for gas if the European Union comes to the conclusion that this violates its sanctions. On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the transfer of payment for natural gas supplies to the EU countries and other states , which introduced restrictive measures, into rubles in order to stop using dollars and euros in settlements. Then the president signed a corresponding decree and announced that Russia would consider non-fulfillment of obligations under gas contracts by unfriendly countries if they did not pay in rubles from April 1. «Italy will refuse to comply with the new gas payment conditions that Moscow demands if the European Union comes to conclusion that this would violate the sanctions,” the agency reports. According to sources, during the preliminary assessment, the EU concluded that the Russian payment terms are a clear violation of the sanctions. Sources say the Italian government is waiting for Brussels to complete its legal review before taking any action.Greece announced preparations for a complete cessation of gas supplies from RussiaEarlier, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Hungary would violate sanctions if it paid for Russian gas in rubles. Western countries announced a series of new sanctions against Russia because of Ukraine, and in Europe statements about the need to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources began to sound louder. The policy of refusing to supply oil and gas from the Russian Federation is actively supported by the United States, calling on alternative producers to increase their production. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy for the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. According to him, the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people. Putin also said that the United States and the European Union had effectively defaulted on their obligations to Russia, freezing its foreign exchange reserves. He added that the current events draw a line under the global dominance of the West in both politics and economics. renunciation of Russian oil and gas
