Europe 1 with AFP 10:32 a.m., May 21, 2022
Vladimir Poutin had warned, if the "unfriendly" countries, buyers of Russian gas, refuse to pay in rubles from accounts in Russia, they will be deprived of supplies.
It is now done, the Russian energy giant Gazprom has suspended all gas deliveries to Finland.
Russian energy giant Gazprom announced on Saturday that it had suspended all gas deliveries to Finland after Helsinki refused to pay for it in roubles.
Gazprom, having not received payment in rubles from the Finnish state energy company Gasum by the May 20 deadline, has "completely stopped its gas deliveries", the Russian group said in a press release.
Putin had asked "unfriendly" countries to pay in rubles
After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24 and the imposition of Western sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 31 demanded that buyers of Russian gas from "unfriendly" countries pay in rubles from accounts in Russia on pain of being deprived of supplies.
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The list of "unfriendly countries", published in early March, includes the United States, members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, South Korea, Norway, etc. and Australia.
EU states are the main consumers of Russian gas.
Gazprom suspended deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland
"As of April 1, payments for gas must be made in rubles using new bank details, about which partners were informed in due time," Gazprom said.
The Russian group says it has supplied 1.49 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Finland in 2021, i.e. two thirds of the country's consumption.
Natural gas, however, represents only 8% of the energy consumed in Finland and the Nordic country has indicated that it is counting on other sources of supply.
At the end of April, Gazprom had suspended all its gas deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland, assuring that these two EU countries had not made any payment in rubles.