[앵커]
Russia is fighting back by asking European countries to pay for their natural gas in rubles as Western economic sanctions continue following the invasion of Ukraine.
The gas supply to Europe was not cut off on the first day of payment.
It remains to be seen whether Russia’s resource weaponization strategy will work.
This is Kim Hyo-seop PD.
[리포터]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to pay for Russian natural gas purchases in rubles.
<블라디미르 푸틴 / 러시아 대통령> “To purchase Russian natural gas, you must open an account in rubles. Effective from 1 April.”
If this is not followed, the contract will be terminated, and a policy of responding to successive sanctions from the West, including Europe.
However, even on the first day of the ruble payment, Archyde.com reported that Nordstream 1, which crosses the Baltic Sea, and two pipelines coming through Ukraine and Slovakia are supplying gas normally.
Russia is also of the position that it will not stop supplying gas if payment is not made in rubles right away.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin said that the payment for gas, which is currently being supplied, should be made in the second half of April or early May, and explained that the ruble settlement order might be lifted if circumstances change on the first day.
In the end, it is interpreted as Putin’s dilemma to protect the ruble and raise money.
Exports of crude oil and natural gas account for 36% of the Russian government’s budget.
Experts question the effectiveness of Russia’s resource weaponization strategy.
An energy science researcher at Oxford University in the UK said, “Payment in rubles sounds like a big deal, but it has become a typhoon in a teacup.”
The US Treasury Department also assessed that the recent recovery of the ruble value is a mirage caused by market intervention rather than the actual situation, and Russia is on the verge of becoming a closed economy.
This is Yonhap News TV Kim Hyo-seop.
#Ruble #Natural gas supply #Putin
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