MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Payments for export supplies of Russian gas will be made in compliance with the rules of the Russian Federation, the Gazprom holding said in a statement on Friday. The company added that it is already notifying counterparties about the procedure of paying for gas in rubles.

"Gazprom, as a Russian company, unconditionally and fully complies with the requirements of the Russian legislation. Notifications about the new procedure for settlements in Russian rubles have been officially sent to counterparties today," the statement said.

Payments for exports of Russian gas will be made in accordance with the rules of the Russian Federation, the holding stressed, adding that Gazprom is a responsible partner and continues to reliably export gas to consumers.

The new procedure of payment for Russian pipeline gas in rubles by buyers from unfriendly countries came into force on April 1. Such buyers are required to open special ruble and foreign currency accounts with Gazprombank to pay for gas supplies. Currency conversion will be carried out on Russian exchanges. In case of incomplete payment, the Russian customs are authorized to ban deliveries. The government commission for the control of foreign investment in Russia has the right to issue exceptions to these rules for individual buyers.

Unfriendly countries

On March 7, the Russian government approved the lists of foreign states and territories engaging in unfriendly actions regarding Russia, its companies and citizens. The list of unfriendly countries includes the United States, Canada, European Union countries, Britain (including Jersey, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar), Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan (considered as the territory of China, but since 1949 governed by its own administration). In 2021, according to the Federal Customs Service, Russia supplied about 132.4 billion cubic meters of gas to unfriendly EU countries.