Putin says "unfriendly" countries must pay for Russian gas in rubles
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said Russia will demand that "unfriendly" countries pay for Russian natural gas in rubles, resulting in a spike in European futures contracts.
"I have taken a decision to switch to ruble payments for our natural gas supplies to the so-called hostile states," Putin said at a meeting with government officials on March 23, according to a Kremlin transcript. "Stop using the compromised currencies in such transactions."
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Russia's Gazprom, responsible for all of the country's pipeline gas exports, has not commented on the matter. Prices for futures contracts at the Dutch TTF gas hub soared on the news. As of 2:45 GMT, the April contract at TTF was up 23.4% at €121.9 ($134)/MWh.
The Kremlin has said before that the unprecedented economic sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine by the EU, the US and the UK are akin to a declaration of war.