Tuppurainen: Finland's won't agree to Russia's payment terms for gas
-
Loading... - Sabrina Jabal
- 28 Apr 2022
- 320 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
Minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen (SDP) on Wednesday stated to Helsingin Sanomat that Finland will not consent to the terms imposed on natural gas payments by Russia.
“We’ve made a decision in the government’s ministerial committee on economic policy that Finland won’t consent to paying in roubles. The decision was made already in early April,” she told.
Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed at the end of last month that gas buyers from all so-called unfriendly nations have to pay for their imports by using both foreign currency and rouble-denominated accounts set up with Gazprombank, the Switzerland-based financial division of Gazprom. No payment, he stated, would be regarded as valid until it had been converted to roubles.
The decree was perceived as an attempt to neutralise the effects of sanctions and replenish the coffers of the Kremlin.
Russia on Wednesday halted gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria, citing the countries’ refusal to pay for supplies in roubles.
Tuppurainen said Finland’s decision rests on the European Commission’s advisory that member states should not make payments in roubles as they would constitute a contractual breach and a violation of the sanctions regime. The payment terms are an attempt to divide and exert influence over Europe, according to her.
“We won’t consent to rouble-denominated payments. They can be seen as Russian blackmailing and part of Russia’s geopolitical efforts.”
The Finnish government, she added to the newspaper, has conveyed its position to Gasum, a state-owned company with a gas contract with Gazprom. Gasum was notified of the new payment terms in early April.
“The position on the main issue is clear,” said Tuppurainen. “We’ve provided ownership steering to the company managing the gas contract that no payments must be made in roubles.”
Whether Russia’s terms constitute a breach of contract, on the other hand, is something companies themselves must determine following an examining their contracts with Gazprom, according to Tuppurainen. Read More...
