Il Russian gas will have to be paid for in rubles. Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced it and reiterates it by setting a date, that of March 31st. Putin expects by March 31 a report from the Cabinet of Ministers, the Central Bank of Russia and Gazprom on the implementation of the currency exchange in rubles for the payment of gas supplies and not in euros or dollars as has been the case up to now. But the response from the G7 countries was not long in coming, arguing that Moscow's request is "unacceptable" and "a clear unilateral violation of existing contracts. If for many Putin "has his back against the wall" for others it is clear that the request of the head of the Kremlin conceals not only the attempt to increase the value of the Russian currency, now at historic lows, but also to further sterilize the impact of the sanctions economic conditions imposed by the West, both existing and future ones.
Does Russia want gas in rubles? The no of the West
While on the one hand Russia is losing ground on the field (with the city of Irpin liberated in the last few hours) on the other it is advancing on the financial markets. 5 days after the announcement the ruble has recovered about 27% against both the dollar and the euro from the negative peaks of 7 March. And if there are many countries that buy the Russian currency, its value will obviously increase further. With this move, Putin intends to force hostile countries to support the Russian currency and restore oxygen and liquidity to the Federation's coffers. Precisely those countries that helped bring it down.
But it doesn't end there. In this way Russia maintains control over the gas. If the price goes up, this means that there will be more profits and more resources to finance its war in Ukraine (the very one that the West condemns but finds itself financing given its dependence on Russian gas). Also within hours of its announcement, the gas price has increased dramatically.
Obviously Putin's counter-move to stem the sanctions did not please Western countries, which immediately condemned the decision. The option is "a unilateral and clear violation of existing treaties", "Putin's attempt to divide us is evident", said German Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck but "we will not be divided and the response of the countries of the G7 is clear: the contracts will be respected”, said the German minister whose country holds the presidency of the G7 this year (United States, France, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany and Italy).
But private individuals are also opposed. The immediate reply of the CEO of Eni Claudio Descalzi removes all doubts: "Eni will not pay for Russian gas in rubles". She said so at a panel in Dubai, according to Bloomberg reports. “Eni has no rubles; the contracts provide for the payment of the fuel in euros and the contracts should be modified to change the terms”, he then stated, underlining that “Europe should look to Africa for more gas supplies”.
The position is clear, but the problem persists, especially in the short term. So much so that, again Descalzi, added that: "Russia's request to receive payment for gas in rubles is a problem for the energy markets because it is causing volatility in prices", as reported by Bloomberg, and that: Europe does not have its own energy resources and does not have sufficient liquefied gas regasification capacity to meet demand. Europe – concluded Descalzi – is an empty box when it comes to energy”.
Moscow's response: "We will not do charity"
“Europe doesn't want to pay for gas in rubles? Certainly Russia will not distribute its gas for free, we will not do charity”. This was guaranteed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov according to Tass. Peskov did not comment on the countermeasures that Moscow could adopt to the Western refusal to pay for supplies in rubles "but we certainly will not supply gas for free, that's for sure", Peskov reiterated.
"Even if Russia has not yet fully introduced its response measures" to Western economic sanctions, "energy and food prices in European countries have already increased", said then the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolaj Patrushev, quoted by Interfax. “Many companies are curtailing their operations, a circumstance that is seriously complicating the socio-economic situation in the Old World against the backdrop of growing migration flows,” Patrushev added.
Russia wants to ban entry to citizens of "hostile countries"
Not only paying for gas in rubles, Russia is studying new countermeasures to Old World sanctions. “The Moscow authorities are working on measures to limit the granting of visas for Russia to citizens of countries involved in “hostile activities by some foreign countries”. This was stated by Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov quoted by Interfax. The list would include the United States, the United Kingdom and all the countries of the European Union, including Italy.
Already in recent weeks, Moscow had announced a ban on various members of the US and Canadian administrations from entering the country, such as the US president Joe Biden, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, the Secretary of Defense Austin and other political figures, such as former secretary of state and first lady, Hillary Clinton.
