Russia stopping gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria
Russia is stopping gas supplies to Poland through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, reported the polish news website Onet, citing sources in the government and the Polish oil and gas company PGNiG.
Moscow did not provide the reasons for stopping the gas supplies, the newspaper writes. The Polish government has convened an emergency group.
On April 26, the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs imposed sanctions against the Russian gas giant Gazprom, which owns 48% of the shares of the Polish company-co-owner of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.
In addition, the Polish Secretary of State and Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, Piotr Naimski, said that Warsaw does not intend to pay for Russian gas in rubles, as Russia demanded.
Gazprom said that it had not yet stopped gas supplies to Poland. However, Gazprom noted that Poland is required to pay for gas deliveries in accordance with the new payment procedure.
Gazprom warned the Bulgarian gas distribution company Bulgargaz that it is stopping gas deliveries o from April 27, reported TASS, citing the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy.
In late March, the world's seven largest economies – Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the United States – unanimously rejected Moscow's demand to pay for Russian oil and gas in rubles.
When asked what Moscow would do if Europe refused to pay in rubles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied:
"We will definitely not supply gas for free, this is absolutely certain. To engage in pan-European charity in our situation is hardly possible and reasonable. The delivery process is very complex. It’s not like buying goods in a store: you buy and pay at the checkout."