On Monday, the G7 responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan to only accept rubles for gas sales to Europe. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said G7 energy ministers agreed that paying in rubles is “not acceptable.”
“All G7 ministers agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements,” Habeck said. “Payment in roubles is not acceptable and … we call on the companies concerned not to comply with Putin’s demand.”
Putin made the announcement last week in response to the US-led Western sanctions campaign against Russia. Some of the sanctions prohibit Russia’s central bank from trading in dollars and euros.
While President Biden has signed an executive order banning Russian energy imports into the US, Washington’s European allies are still incredibly reliant on Russian gas. The EU imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia and is trying to reduce its reliance on Russian energy, but it will take time.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov signaled on Monday that Russia might cut off Europe’s gas supply if it fails to pay in rubles. “We clearly aren’t going to supply gas for free,” he said when asked about the possibility. “In our situation, it’s hardly possible and feasible to engage in charity for Europe.”
Germany and the G7 say that Russia would be violating contracts if it doesn’t accept payment in other currencies. But Moscow has little reason to stick to contracts with countries that are currently involved in a sanctions campaign aimed at wrecking the Russian economy.
Technically, Europe has the right to get Russian energy and pay for it with money Russia can’t use. They really worked the lawyers on that one, finding one more thing to get indignant about.
US/Western Law ; Legal theft lawfare.
Sanctions, taking from “persons” and interfering in legal business transactions is illegal under our Constitution. Here is an excellent article that appeared in antiwar.com:https://www.creators.com/read/judge-napolitano/03/22/sanctions-on-russia-violate-the-constitution
I think – and I certainly could be wrong – that when the western powers confiscated the gold reserves that the Russians held in their vaults, they essentially defaulted on the agreement that bound Moscow to sell oil in dollars. That means they can deal in Rubles.
Yes, these types are so absurd ridicule is your only recourse, as Peskov says they’re demanding charity from the party they’re strangling.
Not acceptable? Whose gas is it?
”
But Moscow has little reason to stick to contracts with countries that
are currently involved in a sanctions campaign aimed at wrecking the
Russian economy”Exactly……………….
Without trying to be racist, “No Tickee, No Shirtee.” In other words, as Peskov said yesterday, “No Rubles, No Gas.”
I am sure Russia would take gold or silver instead of rubles.
Oh “call on companies” not “order the companies” and it is the decision of private enterprise to decide on how to deal with it🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Indeed, I hadn’t noticed that detail. So the pols caught in the (Neocon)squeeze not only want the people in the EU countries to suffer economic collapse, but they want private companies, the corporations whose lifeblood is the energy business to “voluntarily” commit financial suicide?
The EU pols bravely say “No, no, no!” but then choose not to compel it by force of state power? Well, let’s just to see how that plays out.
Too bad too sad for the G 7 as Russia wil do as it pleases.
Europeans can now buy expensive American gas in dollars if they so wish.
Without Russian gas EU is handicapped…! EU must exchange Euros with Rubles from Russia Central Bank to pay for the gas it imports and that is the violation of their own sanctions against Russia…! Time is ticking and their gas will be cut off on April Fool’s Day…!
Violating contracts????The West has stolen $300 billion of Russian reserves and the sanctions mean that the euros or dollars could not be used if Russia received them ie they would be confiscated too!! Rubles please, or no gas (or anything else!)
The deadline is now.
announcement of contract change
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that Russia would only accept payments in roubles for natural gas deliveries (and perhaps oil in the future) to “unfriendly countries”, which includes all European Union members. Putin has said that Moscow would refuse accepting payments on such contracts in discredited currencies, including dollars and euros. Putin has asked the government to instruct state-controlled gas monopolist Gazprom to amend existing contracts such that “unfriendly countries”, including EU member states, start payment in roubles for imports of Russian natural gas. The Bank of Russia (CBR) is to develop a mechanism for processing such payment. The Russian central bank, the government and Gazprom, which accounts for 40% of European gas imports, should present their proposals for rouble gas payments to President Vladimir Putin by March 31. And I expect that Russia will help the EU skalawags where to find roubles.
breach of contract
We don’t have the contract language, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and vice chancellor Robert Habeck called Putin’s demand for payment in roubles a breach of contract and other buyers of Russian gas echoed the point. “All G7 [energy] ministers agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of the existing agreements,” said Habeck, whose country holds the presidency of the G7 most industrialised nations–Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By the way, “a clear breach of the existing agreement” applies to stealing bank reserves, doesn’t it?
noncompliance
Habeck has said that the Group of Seven has called ‘on the companies concerned not to comply with Putin’s demand’. French President Emmanuel Macron rejected Putin’s gas-for-roubles demand. The Russian move “is not in line with what was signed, and I do not see why we would apply it,” Macron said.
termination of contracts
The measures Russia might take if Europe refused to pay for gas in roubles haven’t been specified., A Kremlin spokesman has said that these “issues should be sorted out as they develop.” It shouldn’t be a problem, the sanctioned banks have plenty of roubles. Has to be dollars? No, Gazprom’s European supply contract is majority-denominated in euros. So why are roubles “unacceptable?”
discharge of obligations
The effect of the termination of a contract is to discharge the parties from their unperformed obligations under the contract. Russia gas would no longer be sent to northern Europe. “We will definitely not supply gas for free, that’s for sure. It is hardly possible and reasonable to engage in charity in our situation,” the Kremlin spokesman emphasized.
effects
Russian supplies amounting to more than 75% of aggregate gas demand of some countries in central and eastern Europe. “A complete shutdown of Nord Stream 1 (NS1), Yamal-Europe and the Ukraine routes has devastating consequences for the European gas market, with knock-on effects around the world,” according to a recent Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) report. OIES said that if flows were cut on those systems, Europe’s ability to refill its depleted storage capacity would be “severely compromised.” Domestically rouble payments for gas could increase Bank of Russia (CBR) capacity to function under a prevailing sanctions regime, given current limitations on the CBR’s scope to transact with central banks in the European Union.
arbitration of disputes
If European countries choose to argue this change, there are legal avenues for resolving the dispute as stipulated in each contract. The problem is that the usual dispute arbitrators are located in “unfriendly countries” so how fair would the arbitration be. Hence the dispute is probably not going to be resolved via legal argument.
So, if Russia continues to take dollars and/or Euros, Russia can’t exchange those currencies for good/services because of sanctions. Fact is the G 7 by preventing the free exchange of their currencies has already broken contract with Russia. This goes to the nature and function of money itself. Money is a medium of exchange. If one party, after the contract has come into effect, alters the ability of the currency to be used for its purpose as a medium of exchange, then the contract becomes invalid. It’s implied in the contract.
Th EU/US/G7 has already engaged in illegal activities by freezing Russian currency reserves via their central banks without due process. The Russians foolishly trusted the banking system. They should have known better given how this system robbed Iran and Venezuela in the past.
The international banking system is being destroyed by those countries that benefit the most from it. The arrogance and stupidity of these people is astonishing.