In an urgent March 31 announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West that if payments for energy exports are not made in rubles, those exports will be halted effective April 1.
Since NATO sanctions do not allow Russia to use dollars or euros, there is no use accepting these currencies as payment for Russian gas purchases, Putin explained, showing a determination and clarity that will never be demonstrated by the likes of fake American "president" Joe Biden.
Many in the West assumed that Putin was bluffing because they are so used to their own corrupt politicians lying to them all the time. But Putin is dead serious, and will no longer fuel the West if the West refuses to pay in Russian currency, which Russia can actually use.
The new requirement is that importers of Russian gas open up accounts in Russian banks and transact through them. It is either this or no more gas starting April 1, period.
This also applies to currently active contracts, Putin clarified. If participants refuse to abide by the new rules, their existing contracts will be forfeited and nullified immediately.
"Putin's decree follows an earlier report in the Russian press that Gazprom was studying options of halting gas supplies to Europe amid RUB payment issues," reported Zero Hedge.
"It also follows comments from the Kremlin which suggested that it would look into the idea from lawmakers to ask other nations to pay for a wider range of Russia exports in rubles."
Putin has also ordered special accounts for gas payments to be opened at Gazprombank, which will sell gas FX on a Moscow exchange.
"Today, I signed a decree that establishes the rules for trading Russian natural gas with the so-called 'unfriendly' states," Putin said, easily getting through the sentence with full cognition, unlike Biden's constant blabbering.
The full translated text of Putin's announcement reads as follows:
"We offer counterparties from such countries a clear and transparent scheme. In order to purchase Russian natural gas, they just open ruble accounts in Russian banks. In these accounts that will be used to pay for gas supplies starting tomorrow, April 1 of this year."
"If these payments are not made, we will consider it a failure of the buyer to fulfill its obligations, with all the ensuing consequences. Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either. It means that existing contracts will be stopped."
"I'd like to emphasize again, in a situation where the financial system of western countries is used as a weapon, when companies from these countries refuse to fulfill contracts with Russian banks, enterprises, individuals, when assets in dollars and euros are frozen, it makes no sense to use the currencies of those countries."
Will the West play by Russia's rules or continue to plunge Americans and Europeans into more shortages, more inflation, more poverty?
In what Zero Hedge described as a "kneejerk response to the news," natural gas prices in the United States spiked, possibly in anticipation of the U.S. having to send more natural gas to Europe if NATO refuses to transact in rubles.
Should this happen, Americans can expect shortages of natural gas in due time, dragging the country right down the tubes alongside the European Union in a losing battle against Putin.
Now that it looks like the ruble will have to be purchased by western powers in order to keep the power on, the currency has risen right back to the price it started at before the invasion of Ukraine.
More related news about the West's conflict with Russia can be found at Chaos.news.
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