INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia reiterated Tuesday that it will only be accepting payment for gas deliveries to the EU in rubles after G7 ministers called this
arrangement "unacceptable.""Nobody will supply gas for free
And it can only be paid for in rubles," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters."Companies must understand the completely changed
environment that has arisen in the conditions of the economic war waged against Russia," he said.Russian President Vladimir Putin said last
week that Moscow will now only accept rubles as payment for natural gas deliveries to "unfriendly" countries, which include the European
Union.Western countries have piled crippling sanctions on Moscow since it moved troops into Ukraine, with the United States banning the
Russia's request was a "unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements."He said payments in rubles were "unacceptable" and called on
energy companies not to comply with Putin's demand.On Thursday, the Russian government, its Central Bank, and energy giant Gazprom are
all the other options are worse
That is the reality," Peskov said.
