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Putin's aide explains to Berlin terms of gas payment in rubles, says Kremlin

Such mechanism applies to all unfriendly countries, Dmitry Peskov specified

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin has explained in detail to the German side the terms of payment for gas in rubles following a Wednesday telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

He recalled that during the conversation, Putin himself informed Scholz in detail on the topic of paying for gas supplies in rubles.

"He gave very detailed explanations, but in order to "ground" these explanations on a more expert level, Putin instructed [his] aide Oreshkin to call [Jorg] Kukies, economic assistant to the [German] Chancellor, after the conversation, which Oreshkin did," Peskov said.

"Last night, quite late, he had a phone conversation, where he absolutely substantively, technologically, without any politics, explained how the work of this system is seen," the Kremlin spokesman continued.

When asked whether such a mechanism was offered only to Germany or whether it could be used for settlements with other countries, the spokesman explained: "No, this applies to all unfriendly countries."

Peskov stressed that Moscow remains committed to its obligations under gas contracts.

"De-facto, there will be no changes for the recipients of Russian gas who pay for these deliveries. In any case, they purchase rubles using the same currency specified in the contracts. Russia remains committed to all its obligations under existing contracts and agreements, in terms of quantity, price, and so on," he said.

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