Posted on 03/30/2022 8:24:47 PM PDT by Cronos
The German government said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday that Europe could continue paying for Russian gas in euros and not rubles as previously announced.
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Putin had told Scholz that payments from Europe next month "would continue to be in euros and transferred as usual to the Gazprom Bank, which is not affected by sanctions."
The bank would then convert the payments into rubles, Hebestreit quoted Putin as saying.
Hebestreit said in a statement that Putin had stressed in the telephone call with Scholz "which took place at his (Putin's) request", that "nothing would change for European contract partners" when the new system takes effect on April 1.
"Chancellor Scholz did not agree to this procedure but asked for information in writing to better understand this procedure," Hebestreit said.
"What the G7 agreed stands: energy deliveries will be exclusively paid for in euros or dollars as it states in the contracts."
The Kremlin had earlier released its own readout of the conversation saying that Putin had told Scholz that Moscow's demand that Europe switch to paying for gas in rubles should not "lead to worsening of contractual terms for European importer companies."
Putin said last week that Moscow would begin only accepting rubles as payment for natural gas deliveries to "unfriendly" countries, including the members of the European Union.
He said the payment method was needed because the Russian central bank's currency reserves have been frozen by the EU.
Germany on Wednesday raised the alert level under its emergency gas plan over fears that Russia could cut off supplies if Western countries refused to make the payments in rubles.
Austria announced that it was following suit.
Speaking on behalf of the G7 energy ministers, Germany's Robert Habeck said Monday that Russia's request was a "unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements."
Habeck said payments in rubles were "unacceptable" and called on energy companies not to comply with Putin's demand.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia would not immediately require its natural gas buyers to pay in rubles.
"Payments and deliveries are a time-consuming process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"It's not like... what will be delivered tomorrow, must be paid for by the evening."
On Thursday, the Russian government, its central bank and energy giant Gazprom are expected to present Putin with a new gas payment system that will be conducted in rubles.
I’ll believe that when I see it and not a moment before.
Agreed. We laugh at Russian GDP - but how much debt do we have? And how much of our GDP is just debt-fuelled government spending?
I have been following that guy’s Twitter posts (Illia Ponomarenko, a former Russian Congressman who was the only one to vote against Putin’s 2014 invasion, and who is now a journalist for the Kyiv Independent).
He raises the point that the Ukraine replacing their President every once in a while, is an example that is threatening to Putin’s model of ruling absolutely for life.
Putin has unleashed such brutality against so many, that he must be stopped. Cities destroyed, tens of thousands killed, millions driven from their homes.
I used to think that his killing was limited to that required for a major crime lord or a brass knuckle politician in a rough place - targeting other players in the same game.
But not anymore. He has clearly gone way over the top, mass murdering innocents. No one is going to talk him out of the Kremlin to some retirement palace in Dubai. He has to die, for the good of humanity. The sooner the better. It is the only way to rehabilitate Russia as a nation within the International community.
It would be an honor to be the one who pulled the trigger on that blood thirsty beast. Like being able to have killed Hitler.
“ I wish America’s leaders had the same discipline.” (as Russia has had limiting debt in their budgets)
Another poster pointed out that Russia also has a flat tax system.
I think that part of their model of being ruled by their Intelligence Community (KGB/FSB) is that they are not fooled by the disastrous policy options that they deliberately crafted and promoted to weaken their International adversaries in the West. The KGB long worked to promote in the West such corrosive policies as squandering wealth, running up debt, shutting down energy production, disarming the military, defunding the police, agitating racial animosity, and promoting sexual deviancy.
It is the opposite of what they do at home, because they know it for the poison that it is.
A number of NHS trusts and UK councils will be very glad to hear this.
Not just the Germans. Turns out a number of NHS yrusts and councils in the UK have deals with Gazprom, too...
But didn’t the UK sanction Gazprombank?
Well, an employee, anyway.
SNORT.
We have been played.
Yes, we in the UK have that whole ‘bill of attainder’ thing going for us /s
But I think Gazprombank itelf is sanctioned (by the UK, not the EU).
Will check when I come off work.
From the link...
...Gazprom is believed to be the largest energy supplier, by volume, to British industrial and commercial clients, supplying around 22% of all gas to more than 30,000 clients, including public bodies....
Thanks Mewz!
Meanwhile, the ruble has gained back most of the value it lost since February. So, Russia’s need to bolster the ruble has decline.
I’ll bet you didn’t know that.
Let’s see how the Putin Puffers spin this...lol
That’s funny. toothless sanctions are a joke.
No way to sugarcoat that Zermans are still buying gas from Russia. Pootin is blinking all the way to the bank
Why do you say so?
Yes. The Germans were told over and over again by Poland for the past 5 years that NordStream was a mistake.
I wonder if Merkel was a Russian asset.
“I wonder if Merkel was a Russian asset.
Her father was a prominent commie in E. Germany and she was brought up as a commie.
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