The largest importer of Russian gas in Germany has already paid for Russian gas in rubles, said Italian Prime Minister Mario Draga.
“In fact, the evidence that we saw … This morning, (show) that the largest gas importer in Germany has already paid in rubles,” he said the day before, Deutsche Welle reports.
At the same time, writes Bloomberg, a representative of the German company Uniper SE – the largest buyer of Russian gas in Germany – said that the company did not make any payments according to the new scheme, since the payment term expires only at the end of May. Earlier on Wednesday, Uniper assured that the company will be able to maintain gas supply without violating sanctions. At the same time, her representative refused to comment on whether the Uniper opened a ruble account in Gazprombank.
Italian prime minister also said that European companies will be able to pay for Russian gas in rubles, without violating the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia for the war against Ukraine. “There is no official statement about what will be considered a violation of sanctions. No one has ever talked about whether payments in the rubles will violate or not. This is such a gray zone,” Dragon said.
Deutsche Welle notes that such an interpretation is obviously diverging from a position that was previously indicated in the European Union. At the end of April, the chairman of the European Commission Ursula von der Layen said: “Our clarifications are very clear: if this is not provided for by contracts, then payments in rubles are a violation of sanctions.” The scheme with the opening of two accounts – currency and ruble – in Gazprombank, as the Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded, the European Union is also considered contrary to the sanctions imposed on Moscow.