The G7 countries believe that Vladimir Putin is “back to the wall”.
The G7 countries said on Monday that demanding payment in rubles for Russian gas is “not”not acceptableand shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin “back against the wallsaid German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
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†All G7 ministers agreed that this was a unilateral and clear violation of existing contracts (…), meaning payment in rubles is not acceptablesaid Robert Habeck, after a virtual meeting with his G7 counterparts. †I think this request should be interpreted as Putin’s back against the wallVladimir Putin announced last week that Russia will no longer accept payments in dollars or euros for gas supplies to the EU, giving Russian authorities a week to work out a new ruble settlement system.We ask the companies involved not to respond to Putin’s requestsaid Robert Habeck again on Monday, qualifying Russia as “unreliable supplier†
Because of this requirementPutin’s attempt to divide us is clearadded the minister whose country will chair this year’s G7 (United States, France, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany and Italy). The Russian president explained that his decision was in response to the freeze on Russian assets that the West had decided to impose sanctions on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine. Many European buyers of Russian gas – including Germany, Poland and France – turned down this request, believing Russia to be violating its contracts with European gas companies. Despite Moscow’s foray into Ukraine, Russian gas continues to flow into the European Union, which refuses to impose an embargo like the United States.
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Indeed, some European countries, such as Germany, are particularly dependent on this resource for their economies. Berlin, which supplied more than 55% from Russia before the war, wants to quickly reduce its dependence by approaching other producers, but does not think it will be without Russian gas before mid-2024. In particular, the German government will accelerate the construction of LNG terminals for the purpose of liquefied gas imports. In mid-March, an agreement was signed with Qatar, a major exporter of LNG (liquefied natural gas), for a “long term deliveryduring a visit by Robert Habeck to this Gulf country.
