Neither the euro nor the ruble? Putin circumvents Western sanctions! Oh, what he wants for energy – New Time

Russia is considering selling oil and gas as bitcoins to countries it considers friendly. In this way, he wants to avoid Western sanctions. TASR informs based on the CNBC report. The head of the Russian Duma’s energy committee, Pavel Zavalny, said that with regard to “friendly” countries such as China and Turkey, Russia wants to be more flexible in terms of energy payment options. “We have been proposing to China for a long time to switch to rubles and yuan in national currencies. In the case of Turkey, it will be lira and rubles.” Zavaľnyj added that payments could also be made in bitcoins. The price of bitcoin rose after reports of the Outlaw proposal and was above $ 44,000 (€ 40,080) on Friday morning. Zavalny also reiterated President Vladimir Putin’s demand that “enemy” countries will have to pay for gas in rubles. “If they want to shop, let them pay in hard currency, and that is gold for us, or let them pay as it is appropriate for us, that is, the national currency,” Zavaľnyj said. In an effort to circumvent some Western sanctions, Putin said on Wednesday (March 23) that Russia would demand that “enemy” countries pay for gas supplies in rubles, which further increased uncertainty in the gas market. In early March, the Russian government published a list of states it considered hostile. The list includes 48 countries, including the USA, Canada, Japan, all European Union countries, Britain, Switzerland and Norway. This means that Russia currently supplies most of its natural gas to “hostile” countries. Leaders of some EU countries have rejected Russia’s plans to demand payments for gas supplies in rubles. The representatives of Germany and Italy were the first to react, according to which payment in rubles would mean a breach of contracts. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the currency in which German customers of Russian fossil fuels had to pay Moscow was set directly in their contracts. “The currency in which the deliveries are made is part of the supply contracts and in most cases the contracts provide for payments in euros or dollars,” Scholz said after arriving in Brussels for the European Council summit. The Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed a similar opinion. “We need to know that it would basically be a breach of contract,” he said. The head of the European Commission Ursula in der Leyen added that Russia is trying to circumvent the sanctions of the European Union by this step, which Brussels will not allow. “It will no longer be possible to blackmail us through energy,” she said.