“We will not let [Russia] to blackmail us! And we will not pay for Russian gas in rubles in the future either. It is clear that we are doing everything to become independent from Russia as soon as possible”, Lindner wrote on Twitter.
On Wednesday, Russian energy giant Gazprom decided to suspend gas supplies to Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and Poland’s PGNiG from 27 April due to their refusal to pay for Russian gas in rubles.
In late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government and Gazprom to switch gas payments by countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia to rubles. This came after several countries imposed restrictions on Russia in response to its military operation in Ukraine.
In this April 9, 2010 file photo, a Russian construction worker speaks on a mobile phone in Portovaya Bay some 170 km (106 miles) northwest of St. Petersburg, Russia, during a ceremony marking the start of construction for the Nord Stream pipeline.
© AP Photo / Dmitry Lovetsky
According to the new scheme, Gazprombank will open special foreign currency and ruble accounts for foreign customers. Buyers will be able to transfer funds in the currencies specified in gas supply contracts. The bank will sell it on the Moscow Exchange and then transfer rubles to the gas buyers’ ruble accounts. Buyers will then use these funds to pay Gazprom.