Austria and Germany agreed to pay for Russian gas in a new way

"We, that is OMV, accepted the terms of payment, as did the German government. They were found to be in compliance with the terms of the sanctions. It was important for us”, - Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.

He also pointed out that Poland and Bulgaria refused to work under the new mechanism, which is why they faced a halt in supplies. Recall that from April 27, it stopped gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria due to the refusal of these countries to switch to settlements in rubles. In the European Commission, Russia was accused of blackmail in this regard.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that gas supplies can be paid in euros.

The German Uniper, one of the largest buyers of Russian gas, also announced the possibility of switching to a new mechanism for paying for fuel from Russia.

The new mechanism does not violate EU sanctions, although there are certain risks. The new payment system requires companies to open ruble accounts with Gazprombank. Then the payment in euros or dollars will be automatically converted into rubles and transferred to Gazprom.

To date, ten European companies that purchase Russian gas have opened ruble accounts with Gazprombank to pay for fuel supplies.