Countries not paying for gas in rubles have been cut off: Kremlin

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that buyers of Russian gas that have refused to pay in rubles have already been cut off from gas supply.

“They have already been turned off… The system is working, the system has been adjusted,” he told journalists. “Those who receive gas are already working according to the new system, which is defined in the relevant decree of the president of Russia.”

This new mechanism of payment was introduced by Moscow on April 1, and applies to "unfriendly" countries, meaning those that have imposed sanctions on Russia.

These conditions, which can also circumvent EU sanctions, require buyers to open two accounts in Russia's Gazprombank, one in rubles and one in foreign currency. 

Some EU countries, including Finland, Poland and the  Netherlands, as well as some companies in Denmark and Germany, have refused to comply with the scheme, and so have had their gas supplies cut. Hungary, as well as some other countries, continue to receive Russian gas.

German taxpayers and gas users could face an increased cost of approximately €5 billion ($5.4 billion), since Russia imposed sanctions against Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries, the Welt am Sonntag weekly reported, citing industry representatives.

In May, Russia stopped supplying Gazprom Germania the German subsidiary of Gazprom. The decision came after Berlin put the company under trustee management following the Ukraine war.

As a result, the Bundesnetzagentur energy regulator, acting as a trustee, had bought replacement gas to fulfill supply contracts with German municipal utilities and regional suppliers.