25 Mar 2022 13:50

Gazprom will soon determine aspects of payment for gas in rubles - Kremlin

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - Gazprom will in the coming days determine the aspects of switching to payment for Russian gas in rubles, and this information will be relayed to buyers, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Asked by Interfax to comment on remarks by EU officials that it would not be possible to pay for gas imported from Russia in rubles, Peskov said: "There is an instruction to Gazprom from the Russian president to accept payment in rubles. Within a week, or to be precise in the four days that are left, Gazprom will have to make contacts and devise a comprehensible and transparent system as to how this can be done technically and logistically."

"This information will be communicated to the buyers of Gazprom's products, and then we'll see," Peskov said, adding: "We proceed from the current instructions by the head of state."

Asked if the decision to pay in rubles also applies to liquefied natural gas, Peskov said: "The president did not differentiate between pipeline and LNG in any way. But the instruction was given to Gazprom , that is in this case there was no instruction for Novatek .

Peskov also said Novatek could "hardly receive a direct order." "This was a directive for Gazprom. Gazprom is an international company, but its main owner is the state, which is why such a directive was issued to Gazprom. The president did not say anything about Novatek," Peskov said.