Ukraine war: Putin accuses Western banks of failing to make gas payments after Russian roubles demand
- Russia’s president has demanded payment for his country’s gas supplies in roubles
- The Kremlin has been forging closer ties with China and other Asian countries
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western banks of failing to make payments for Russian gas, just two weeks after demanding such payments be made in roubles.
“There are defaults on export deliveries of Russian energy resources,” Putin said during a meeting about the development of Russia’s energy sector, parts of which were broadcast on state television on Thursday.
“Banks from these extremely unfriendly states are withholding the transfer of payments,” the president said.
In late March, Putin demanded that EU countries pay for deliveries of Russian gas in roubles in future, a move that came as Russia seeks to mitigate the effects of Western sanctions on its economy.
Western governments imposed far-reaching sanctions on the financial sector and others after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Buyers of Russian gas can open an account at Gazprombank and deposit money there in dollars and euros as previously. The bank converts the money into roubles and transfers it to Gazprom.
