Russia Will Obviously Not Supply Gas to Anyone for Free, Says Kremlin

Earlier, the Finnish gas company Gasum said that it did not accept requirement to switch to ruble payments

© Maxim Churusov/TASS

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Russia will not supply gas to anyone for free, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday when commenting on a statement made by the Finnish company Gasum, saying that it will not fulfill the requirement on paying in rubles and expects gas deliveries to be suspended in coming days.

"We do not have information about all companies, with which Gazprom has contracts concluded, this is not our authority. Gazprom should be contacted on details, of course. But [Russia] will obviously not supply anything to anyone for free," he said.

The Finnish state-owned gas company Gasum said in a statement earlier this week that it did not accept Gazprom Export's requirement to switch to ruble payments and would consequently not make payments in rubles or under Gazprom Export’s proposed payment arrangement. The Finnish side has decided to take the disputes regarding the supply contract to arbitration, the company added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin ordered on March 23 that unfriendly states must pay for Russian gas in rubles, saying that Moscow would refuse to accept payments under gas contracts with those states in ‘compromised’ currencies, particularly meaning dollars and euros.