Putin says Russia will enforce rouble payments for gas, prepared to halt contracts

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he had signed a decree saying foreign buyers, or so-called "unfriendly states," must pay in roubles for Russian gas from April 1, and contracts would be halted if these payments were not made.

"If such payments are not made, we will consider this a default on the part of buyers, with all the ensuing consequences. Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either - that is, existing contracts will be stopped," Putin said in televised remarks.

Western companies and governments have rejected the move as a breach of existing contracts, which are set in euros or dollars.

Russia supplies about a third of Europe's gas, so energy is the most powerful lever at Putin’s disposal as he tries to hit back against sweeping Western sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine.

#GlobalNews

[northstar]

sholtz is the speech you should make have made a very serious mistake in joining the american neocon effort to effecr regime change in are very sorry beg for your forgiveness and compassion for our people who will suffer greatly will certify the nordstream pipeline asap will ditch nato and tell american troops to leave our soil mistake was catastophic we appeal to your sense of humanity and fair play to help us undo the wrong we have committed we have removed the roops, left nato and certified the pipeline we hope gas flows will be restarted and remain as normal and as a last act of contrition i and all my colleagues involved in this error will tender our resignations, , , ,
please mr putin sir we beg you

[godzillaleung]

US : Let"s go guys, I promise we'll make Russia go down
EU : Go go go let's freeze their assets etc
Russia : From now you pay our oil and gas with rubel, we can't use your currency because your sanctions.
EU : Contract is a contract
Russia : Contract is a contract if you're our friend, now you're not

😁😁😁

[achidmb]

Thé guy right. Everyone will do the same. How can you sell your oil in a currency that going to be confiscated by the guys you are selling to

[Michael-fwef]

I am still waiting for the the US to find those WMDs in Iraq.

[mersingmalaysia]

Putin drop an April fool on Shultz yesterday and I think today he just told Shultz 'give us ruble or eat sauerkraut for gas'.

[rogerw]

Have to admit Russians are awesome in dealing with their unfriendly counterparts😄

[oomz]

Everyone thinks they are gangster until the real gangster shows up, respect.

[HN-jupl]

A speech that will be remembered years from now. Death of the Dollar

[devinfraser]

See ya later PETRO DOLLAR . When this starts, if it starts markets are going to tank …

[thoughttranscending]

This is awesome! Hopefully this is the first step in a move towards a gold backed reserve currency.

[durohwy]

We Chinese thank the EU. The sanctions against Russia this time have made China a lot of money. Thank you

[RobinWhistles]

Russia had no choice(euro leaders made euros useless to Russia..what did they expect?)...they've been kicked around for long enough. Well done tbh and well played.

[MidnightSunshine]

I mean, what did the unfriendly countries expected? A lollipop 🍭?

[Theauthenticmindset]

Don’t worry Putin, we don’t believe our mainstream media as well.

[Omar-xopm]

I'm amazed that the same people who've seized personal property, frozen assets, openly talked about nationalizing gazprom are suddenly surprised when Russia doesnt accept euros (which are essentially being put into escrow and of no use to the Russians in the first place).

[oldmangrannyoldmangranny]

Love him or hate him, he has a point.

[peacehumilitytolerance]

move NATO. Bravo to Putin for turning the tide of power. Now watch Europe pucker up and be forced to start thinking for themselves and their own interests and not the US....LOVE

[fedosize]

Did European leaders really think to get gas for free? What were they hoping for ? 🧐

[scottsum]

Checked & Mate! So who's the loser? 🤣

[squry]

lets not forget that the price of fertilizer has quadrupled. Russia is the major exporter of fertilizer
farmers are going to take a big hit which increase food prices and most likely exacerbate food shortages near future