Data on the payment of Russian gas

By Harry Floudopoulos

Until now, all the possibilities regarding the payment of the Russian physicist from Greece remain open, in view of the meeting of the Ministers of Energy that has been convened by the French presidency for next Monday. The Greek government, through the Minister of Energy K. Skrekas, is expected to ask for the formulation of a single European position on the issue, on the basis of which all the Member States will act. According to the leaks that have taken place and seen the light of day, European officials ruled out the possibility of immediate payment of the Russians in rubles. But what about the payment method requested by Russia, which provides for the payment of the amount in euros or dollars to the Russian Gazprombank and then its conversion into rubles? Does it violate or not the sanctions imposed on Russia?

A first answer, of great importance, is expected to be given in the next few days by the German company Uniper, which is expected to pay in euros not to a European bank but to a Russian bank account (Gazprombank).

What Germany will do with the payments for Russian gas is a first clear indication that it will set the stage for the moves of other countries.

This is also pointed out by sources of the Greek government, who emphasize that in case it is not possible to agree on a common European position on the issue of payment in the forthcoming Council of Ministers, then Greece will determine its own position depending on how they will move and the other European countries. In other words, what the countries that precede Greece will do will be taken into account, which is reminded that it has its next payments scheduled for the third ten days of May.

As is well known, under President Putin’s decree, payments for gas from “unfriendly countries” will be made through a specific procedure, through two accounts: the first in foreign currency and the second in rubles. Gazprombank is required to convert the amount deposited in foreign currency into rubles before transferring it to the parent Gazprom. In fact, it seems that the whole issue is more about prestige than the essence of the method of payment that does not change for the buyers of Russian gas after they will pay Gazprombank the price in euros or dollars. However, at European level it has not so far been possible to have a common approach to the issue. In fact, information leaked in the past few days wanted a number of European companies to be ready to follow the payment method and procedure indicated by Moscow. Among them is the Italian company EMI.

At this point, another aspect of the issue should be pointed out, which “points” in the direction of the payment of the Russians based on the procedure they have proposed. Who is she; According to the European Sanctions Regulation, an exemption from sanctions is provided for when it is identified that there is a threat to energy security of supply. It is understandable that this is the case with gas imports from Russia.

In any case, regardless of the provisions of the sanctions regulation, as reported by competent government sources in the Capital.gr Greece is considering all legal, political and economic aspects of the issue and even if there is no agreement on a common European position next Monday, it will determine its position taking into account the position of other European countries.