Dutch GasTerra refuses to pay in rubles, will no longer receive gas

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Although several Russian gas buyers agreed to pay for the resource in rubles, the Netherlands won't be one of them.

On Monday, Dutch energy company GasTerra announced its refusal to pay for Russian gas in rubles, just after Russian gas giant Gazprom notified its customers that it will halt its deliveries as of May 31 if the payment is not received in rubles. That entails pulling the plug on 2 billion cubic meters of gas, which is the amount left under the current contract between the Dutch and Russian sides. 

"Dutch gas trader GasTerra has decided not to comply with Gazprom’s one-sided payment requirements. These payment requirements are set out in a decree passed by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding payment for the supply of Russian gas. In response to GasTerra’s decision, Gazprom declared to discontinue supply with effect from 31 May 2022," the company said.

Gazprom's decision entails that from now until October 1, 2022 - which is the expiration date of the energy contract - the Netherlands will not receive about 2 billion cubic meters of gas, which were within the contract.

Furthermore, the Dutch company added that it is unaware of whether the European market will cope with the loss of energy without serious consequences.

Read more: Germany refuses to pay for Russian gas in rubles: Finance Minister

A similar scenario occurred with Bulgaria by the end of April: Gazprom had also informed Bulgaria that it will halt its shipments of Russian gas to the country.

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said his country would not deliver gas to Europe for free, in a reiteration of President Vladimir Putin's stance that Russia would not accept anything but rubles for gas deliveries to "unfriendly countries".

The list of unfriendly countries includes the US, Canada, the EU, the UK, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, and also Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The western media campaign is targeting #Russia, making millions of people think Russia is isolated with the sanctions imposed mostly by the #West, but is this really the truth?#RussiaUkraine pic.twitter.com/TUvrwUdwqO

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 3, 2022

However, Bulgaria later joined the West in its bid to sanction Russia over the war in Ukraine, expelling more Russian diplomats on suspicion of "spying", just two weeks after declaring 10 Russian diplomats "persona non grata." 

The move came following allegations from the Bulgarian prosecution that the diplomats were "involved in unregulated intelligence activity," claiming they were collecting "information of national importance."

Bulgaria had recalled its ambassador to Russia a week prior for consultations after tensions between its Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Russian envoy Eleonora Mitrofanova.