Russia’s squeeze on European energy companies to pay for gas in rubles might be about to pay off as some of the continent’s largest suppliers appear to be working out sanctions-compliant solutions to secure gas flows.
On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to force companies “from unfriendly countries” to set up a designated account with Gazprombank, the Swiss-based trading arm of state-owned energy company Gazprom, whereby euro or U.S. dollar payments could be converted into rubles via a ruble-denominated second bank account.
