MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The Russian side remains committed to all obligations under gas contracts, including the number of supplies and their price, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
"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," Peskov said.
He noted that the mechanism of payment for Russian gas in rubles is ready, it will be presented to the public very soon.
Earlier, the head of state instructed the government to prepare the relevant changes in payment procedure by March 31.
On February 24, Putin said in a televised address that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. The US, the EU, the UK, and a number of other states announced that they would impose sanctions against Russian legal entities and individuals.
In response Putin ordered, that unfriendly states must pay for Russian gas in rubles. He said Moscow would refuse to accept payment under gas contracts with those states in "compromised" currencies, meaning dollars and euros. He ordered the government to instruct Gazprom to make the necessary changes to the existing contracts.