China News Service, May 21. According to a report from the Russian Satellite Network, Gazprom Export Corporation announced that at the end of the working day on May 20, local time, the company had not received the supply in April from the Finnish state-owned energy company Gasum. The ruble payment for natural gas, so the gas supply to the latter will be stopped from the 21st until the latter pays the payment in rubles according to the new payment method.

  According to reports, Gasum did not agree to pay Gazprom in rubles as requested by the Russian side, and has appealed to arbitration over the dispute over the performance of the contract with Gazprom.

  "It is clear that no one will provide anything for free," Peskov, the Russian presidential press secretary, commented on the cut-off of natural gas.

  Earlier, Gazprom had suspended gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

  On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree on the settlement of natural gas trade in rubles with "unfriendly" countries and regions.

When the new regulations take effect on April 1, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said that Russia will not "cut off gas" to Europe immediately, because the cost of natural gas supplied from April 1 should be in the second half of April or May. settlement.

  European countries rely heavily on imports of natural gas.

Statistics show that among the natural gas imported by Finland, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and other countries, Russian natural gas accounts for more than 90%.

In addition, nearly 80% of Bulgaria's natural gas, more than 40% of Poland, and nearly 25% of France's natural gas are also imported from Russia.