Putin updated the procedure for payments for Russian gas by foreign buyers

Russian President Vladimir Putin has updated the procedure for making payments to foreign buyers for Russian gas supplies. The decree of the head of state was posted on December 5 on the official Internet portal of legal information.

The document amends Decree No. 172 of March 31, 2022, "On the special procedure for foreign buyers to fulfill their obligations to Russian natural gas suppliers," which, among other things, made Gazprombank an authorized bank to open special accounts for such deliveries.

In particular, it was authorized to resume supplies to foreign buyers who had repaid their debts by crediting them to an account in rubles. Previously, their repayment of the debt under the supply contract was not a basis for its resumption, if the buyer did not comply with the procedure established by the decree.

"The repayment of a foreign buyer's debt under a natural gas supply contract by crediting funds in rubles to a ruble account opened by the Russian supplier in an authorized bank is grounds for resuming <...> supplies," the updated version of this paragraph reads.

At the same time, it is clarified that repayment of debt by other means is not considered grounds for resumption of supplies.

At the same time, the obligation of foreign buyers of Russian gas to pay for it only through Gazprombank has been effectively abolished. According to the new rules, supplies can now be paid for by crediting the Russian supplier's account in Gazprombank with funds received from third parties.

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The day before, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he had asked the United States to make an exception to the sanctions against Gazprombank for payments for gas from Russia. He discussed such a possibility with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Brussels.

Earlier, on November 21, Gazprombank was added to the US sanctions list. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said afterward that Russia was working on retaliatory measures. He called it impossible to completely block measures against the Russian Federation and promised that a solution would be found soon.

Financier Denis Astafiev explained that Gazprombank had not been sanctioned for a long time because it was important for payment for energy supplies to Europe. The payments were made on an exceptional basis for the stability of the European energy industry. Washington's step will cause more damage to it than to the Russian energy sector, the expert said.