Posted on 03/31/2022 3:25:01 PM PDT by Hojczyk
Vladimir Putin today threatened to turn off Europe's gas supplies from tomorrow if countries refuse to pay in roubles.
The Russian President, announcing a decree in televised remarks, said foreign buyers would have to 'open rouble accounts in Russian banks' which can be used to pay for 'gas delivered starting from tomorrow'.
'If such payments are not made, we will consider this a default on the part of buyers, with all the ensuing consequences. Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either - that is, existing contracts will be stopped,' he said.
The move has been seen as a bid to bolster the Russian currency, which fell to historic lows when the West applied sanctions after he sent his army into Ukraine on February 24. Western companies and governments have rejected the demands as a breach of existing contracts, which are set in euros or dollars.
Russia has been hit by sweeping sanctions on its economy and trade since the start of Putin's war in Ukraine but measures by EU governments have not targeted oil and gas contracts with Moscow because many member states are heavily reliant on the Kremlin's supplies.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Not so sure Russians are bluffing. China and India seem interested in the natural gas, maybe it will just get diverted all to them and Germany will be forced to pound sand.
Putting the part of my German ancestry aside for a minute ...
YEP! They were warned. Trump told 'em so and the stubborn bastards didn't listen. That's the problem with the damn' Krauts.
(Picking up the part of my German ancestry back up now ...)
The inmates are running the asylum ... worldwide ...
Ww2 never ended. Germany, with U.S help, has conducted warfare by other means. Germany controls most of Europe just as the toothbrush moustached Austrian intended.
All of us who watched as Merkel placed Germany’s head in a noose feel vindicated.
Germans are great people. Their government however sucks shit.
I have read that Germany lacks the facilities to obtain LNG shipments from other countries. However, did Germany do without Russian natural gas and oil in the Cold War era?
Day-go, WOP, greaser...I’ve been called them all and don’t care. Ya know why? I’m an adult.
blackmail?
Consider yourself lucky Germany.
Putin has nuclear weapons and he’s evil enough to use them.
How’s that Nordstream II deal workin’ out for you idiot EU?
Gas and oil are fungible products. If the cat eaters buy oil and gas from the vodka drunks, then they’re not buying it from other sources, and those sources become available. Europe may have to ship in its gas and oil at significantly higher cost in tankers. Probably from Canada, since the Depends Filler in Chief is too busy drooling and smacking down lime jello and having sundowner’s rants over masks to worry about ample energy supplies.
Ethnic slurs... what is an ethnic slur? And why are they bad? Kraut is not even an ethnic slur so get off your Social Justice Warrior pony and ride off into the sunset. You guys really have to hunt to find new ways to be offended. Let it be.
Hard to feel down about an economically and socially self-destructing Germany.
Trump saw it coming. Merkle allowed it.
Did you miss the part about my German ancestry?
Well, if Rubles don’t work, gold will.
“ Putin has them over a barrel, just like Trump predicted he would.”
And the solution is for Biden to drill. And the left won’t let him. Even if he woke up and yelled, “drill baby drill.”
Thats petroleum. One can buy and store oil, and change suppliers at a whim. There doesn’t need to be an ongoing relationship. If India and China can get discount oil, great.
But this is about gas though. Fundamentally different. This is a utility service, not fungible commodity trades. Once the seller and buyer commit, and lay pipe and build gas fired power plants, etc., there is no easy way out of it.
Russia has the gas, but more importantly it has got Germany committed to its gas through pipelines and power plants, etc.
Germany (and some others) went for a single source gas supply with a fundamentally unreliable partner. Which is really dumb.
Germany HAS to dump the Russian gas dependency, quick. This may take a year, of putting its shut down nuke plants back in service (3 of these shut down last year), keeping its current nukes in service (3 were scheduled to shut this year), and also with its coal plants. And such other nuke and coal plants elsewhere in the EU (in Poland say) need to come online again to provide electricity to Germany.
Long term though this will be terrible for Russia. They have permanently lost a huge customer that they wont be able to replace. Gas can’t go just anywhere. It requires a long term commitment. Who will dare enter such a deal with Russia, ever again?
Everybody’s thinking suddenly got real on 2/24.
Short term chaos, long term Russia gets it in the neck.
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