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For the German Minister of the Economy, Vladimir Putin is “back to the wall”. Hence his response to the freezing of Russia’s assets by the West, which amounts, according to the G7 countries, to a “breach of contract”.
Russia announced last week that it would no longer accept payments in dollars or euros for gas deliveries to the European Union.
REUTERS
The G7 countries (United States, France, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany and Italy) considered on Monday that requiring payment in rubles for Russian gas is “not acceptable”, the minister said. German for Economics, Robert Habeck. “All G7 ministers agreed that this was a unilateral and clear breach of existing contracts,” he said after a virtual meeting with his counterparts. of the group. “I think this request should be interpreted as Putin’s back to the wall.”
Russia’s president announced last week that Russia would no longer accept payments in dollars or euros for gas deliveries to the European Union, giving Russian authorities a week to work out a new ruble settlement system. . “We ask the companies concerned not to respond to Putin’s request,” said Robert Habeck on Monday, calling Russia an “unreliable supplier”. Through this requirement, “Putin’s attempt to divide us is obvious,” added the minister, whose country is chairing the G7 this year.
The Russian president explained that his decision was a reaction to the freezing of Russian assets decided by the West to sanction Moscow, after the invasion of Ukraine. A number of European buyers of Russian gas – including Germany, Poland and even France – denounced this request, believing that Russia was thereby violating its contracts with European companies buying gas.
Agreement with Qatar for Germany
Despite Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian gas continues to flow to the European Union, which refuses to impose an embargo, like the United States. Some European countries, including Germany, are indeed particularly dependent on this resource for their economy. Berlin, which supplied more than 55% from Russia before the war, is seeking to quickly reduce its dependence by canvassing other producers, but does not envisage being able to do without Russian gas before mid-2024.
The German government will in particular accelerate the construction of LNG terminals with a view to importing liquefied gas. An agreement was signed in mid-March with Qatar, a major exporter of LNG (liquefied natural gas), for a “long-term supply”, during a visit by Robert Habeck to this Gulf country.
(AFP)