In contrast to other EU countries, which are less dependent on Russia, Germany is agreeing to the Kremlin's new terms of payment for gas deliveries - and is therefore continuing to purchase the fuel without losses for the time being.

Energy companies such as Uniper or RWE recently transferred the amounts due to Gazprombank in a manner accepted by Moscow.

Christian Geinitz

Business correspondent in Berlin

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In any case, the Federal Network Agency did not report any disruptions on Wednesday: gas imports are stable, the supply remains secure, the most recent delivery stop against the Shell company only affects small quantities and has no major impact.

The main pipeline Nord Stream 1 carried 4 percent less gas on Wednesday than the day before, which is explained by Russia's ban on exports to the Netherlands.

The gas volumes that were lost would be procured elsewhere, the network agency assured.

The industry commented on the latest development: "If the Kremlin did not agree with German payment processing, they would have turned off the tap just like other countries." Of course, Moscow is also more willing to make concessions than in other cases, since Germany is the most important gas customer.

“What matters is that gas buyers pay in euros”

The state-owned company Gazprom from St. Petersburg had previously stopped deliveries to countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and the Netherlands because they had refused to comply with a presidential decree published by Vladimir Putin at the end of March and the subsequent implementation regulations.

The decree obliges foreign buyers to open so-called K-accounts with Gazprombank so that the payment can take place in rubles.

Moscow wants to circumvent the sanctions against its central bank.

The decree requires companies to have a ruble account with Gazprombank in addition to a foreign exchange account.

For a long time it looked as if the EU Commission and the German government were opposed to the establishment of ruble accounts, as this procedure would undermine the sanctions.

But now it is becoming clear that Brussels and Berlin are at least partly going along with the path set out by Moscow.

It is in line with the sanctions and the EU guidelines for companies to open two accounts, one of which is in rubles, government circles said on Wednesday: “It is not the number of accounts that matters, but that the gas buyers pay in euros. “That was the attitude of the EU and Germany.