The Kremlin has slammed accusations of blackmailing Poland and Bulgaria, just moments after the two nations denounced it for halting its natural gas supply as an act of revenge and blackmail.
“This is not blackmail,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a conference call, according to CNN.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had criticized Russia’s gas cutoff as a “blackmail” tactic after Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom announced that it has suspended its supplies in the two countries.
“The need for the conditions that were documented in President [Putin’s] decree, meaning the new payment method, was caused by unprecedented unfriendly steps in the economy and financial sector undertaken against us by unfriendly countries,” Peskov said.
Peskov defended Russia by stating that the country had no other options left other than switching its payment mode in rubles for natural gas supply to Europe.
Also Read: Germany gives in to pressure from Western allies, pledges tanks export to Ukraine
“We had a significant amount of our reserves blocked, or ‘stolen’, putting it simply. All this required a transition to a new payment system,” Peskov explained.
He further added that the recent changes “were brought to the attention of buyers in advance.”
Also Read: US officials return to Ukraine first time since Russian invasion began: Report
However, Poland and Bulgaria believe that Russia’s move comes after the new sanctions that were imposed against it on Tuesday. The sanctions targetted about 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, including Gazprom. Mere hours after the sanctions, Poland claimed of receiving a notice that Gazprom was halting its energy supplies for the country’s failure to accept its rule to make payments in Russian rubles.
PGNiG, a Polish state-controlled oil and gas company said that the supply was cut off from the Yamal pipeline in the early hours of Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that “unfriendly” nations would have to begin paying for gas in rubles.
