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Austria accepts terms of payment for Russian gas in rubles — Chancellor

On March 23, the Russian president ordered that unfriendly states must pay for Russian gas in rubles

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN BRUNA

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer

© EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN BRUNA

VIENNA, April 27. /TASS/. The Austrian side, represented by Austrian oil and gas company OMV, accepted Russia's conditions for paying for Russian gas supplies in rubles by opening an account with a Russian bank, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Wednesday.

"We, that is, OMV, accepted the terms of payment, as did the German government. The terms were found to be in line with the terms of the sanctions. This was important for us," he said at a press conference.

The Chancellor drew attention to the fact that Poland and Bulgaria refused to pay for Russian gas under the rubles mechanism, and therefore faced problems with the supply of this type of fuel from Russia.

According to Nehammer, during his trip to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him of future gas supplies in full and the possibility of paying for the supplies in euros, so the situation for Austria has not changed as of now.

Putin ordered on March 23 that unfriendly states must pay for Russian gas in rubles, saying that Moscow would refuse to accept payments under gas contracts with those states in "compromised" currencies, particularly meaning dollars and euros.

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