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Russian gas supplies will not stop if payment in rubles not confirmed by April 1

"The payment on present supplies is not made today, it is made at the end of the second half of the month, April, or even in early May," Dmitry Peskov explained

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. The supplies of Russian gas will not be cut off if purchasers fail to confirm the payment in rubles by April 1, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"The situation is the following so far. Yesterday I was asked by many whether the lack of confirmation in rubles means that gas supplies will be cut off starting April 1. No, it doesn’t, and the decree [of Russian President] that was signed and published yesterday, does not stipulate it. The payment on present supplies is not made today, it is made at the end of the second half of the month, April, or even in early May," he explained.

Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin requested moving payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries to rubles, saying that Moscow would refuse accepting payments on such contracts in discredited currencies, including dollars and euros. He also tasked the government with giving Gazprom an instruction on amending present contracts. On March 31, Putin signed a decree on rules of gas trade with unfriendly countries, which stipulates a new system of contract payment.

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