Russia can resume gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria if these countries pay in rubles under the gas contracts, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, TASS reports.
"Payment in due form will be the basis for resumption of deliveries," he said.
When asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to have contacts with colleagues from these countries to discuss the situation with gas supplies, Peskov replied: “There are no plans.”
On April 27, Gazprom announced that it had completely suspended gas supplies to the Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and the Polish PGNiG due to non-payment in rubles on time.
On April 26, Gazprom notified importing companies in Poland and Bulgaria that it would stop gas supplies from April 27 due to their refusal to make final settlements in Russian rubles.
On March 23, Putin instructed the government to transfer payments for the export of Russian gas to unfriendly countries into rubles. He stated that Russia would refuse to accept payments under such contracts in "compromised" currencies, including dollars and euros.
According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, in 2021, Russian gas supplies to Poland increased by 9.4% to 10.58 billion cubic meters. Deliveries to Bulgaria doubled last year - up to 3.15 billion cubic meters.
