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precident Vladimir Putin |
International Military - From now on, buying Russian natural gas must be done by opening a ruble account in a Russian bank. Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed this extreme decision.
Putin is known to have signed a decree revealing that foreign buyers must pay in rubles for Russian gas from April 1. If this is not done, the contract will be terminated. “To buy Russian natural gas, they have to open a ruble account in a Russian bank.
From these accounts, payments will be made for gas deliveries starting tomorrow," said Putin, quoted by Zonajakarta.com from Al Jazeera. Putin said that everything would have consequences if this was not done. He also emphasized that Russia does not do charity and set the rules accordingly.
“If the payment is not made, we will consider this a default on the part of the buyer, with all the ensuing consequences. No one is selling us anything for free, and neither are we going to do charity – that is, existing contracts will be terminated," he said.
As is well known, Russia supplies about a third of Europe's gas. This gives a big impact in the European region. Meanwhile, its decision to impose ruble payments has pushed up the Russian currency, which fell to historic lows after the February 24 invasion but has since recovered.
The latest mechanism is that buyers must transfer foreign currency to a special account at a Russian bank, which will then send rubles back to foreign buyers to make gas payments. He said the switch was meant to strengthen Russia's sovereignty, and it would stick to its obligations under all contracts.
As is known, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the country has been subject to sanctions by various countries. This then affects several aspects in the country. The most affected is the economy, where the ruble then fell drastically.
Reporting from AP News, apart from this, there are several other things Russia is doing. One of them is that the Central Bank of Russia has raised interest rates to 20%. Not only that, the Kremlin has also imposed strict capital controls on those who wish to exchange their rubles for dollars or euros.
This is a monetary defense that Putin may not be able to defend as long-term sanctions weigh on the Russian economy.
It could also be a sign that Russia's efforts to artificially prop up its currency are successful by leveraging its oil and gas sector.