Putin’s Ruble Standoff With Europe Risks De Facto Gas Embargo
- EU lawyers say abiding by Putin’s decree would break sanctions
- The European Union gets 40% of its natural gas from Russia
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The European Union and Russia are at risk of triggering a de facto embargo on Russian gas after the bloc’s lawyers drafted a preliminary finding that the mechanism President Vladimir Putin is demanding for payment in rubles would violate EU sanctions.
Countries including Germany are still scrutinizing an initial EU assessment that Putin’s ruble demand would breach sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Netherlands has told its energy firms to refuse the new payment system in light of the EU legal analysis.