Putin reverses his earlier decree, allows Russian gas producers to accept payments in foreign currency
Russian gas suppliers will be able to accept payments in foreign currency from "unfriendly" countries, according to the decree signed by the Russian president Vladimir Putin. Payments for gas are proposed to be credited to a special foreign currency account of the Russian supplier specified in the contract.
The decree amends the March decree, according to which all payments for gas must be accepted exclusively in rubles. In March 2022, after Russian Central Bank's assets in dollars and euros were frozen in the West, Putin explained that foreign countries use their currencies "as weapons", and therefore Russia refused to use the foreign currency in settlements.
Gas importers from Poland, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands rejected these conditions, which stopped deliveries of Russian gas to these countries.
The price of gas has been rapidly falling in Europe and has already reached pre-war levels.