STOCKHOLM, May 17. /TASS/. Gasum will not accept Gazprom’s requirement to pay for Russian gas in rubles, the Finnish state-owned gas company said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Gasum does not accept Gazprom Export's requirement to switch to ruble payments and will consequently not make payments in rubles or under Gazprom Export’s proposed payment arrangement," the statement said. The Finnish side has decided to take the disputes regarding the supply contract to arbitration, the company said. In addition, the parties are in significant dispute concerning other claims submitted under the contract, according to the statement.
"Gasum considers there to be an increased risk of the natural gas supply in accordance with the existing supply under the existing supply contract being halted, and consequently the import of natural gas from Russia to Finland might end. Gasum has been preparing for this situation together with its customers and the national authorities. During the coming summer season, Gasum will aim to ensure the availability of natural gas for its Finnish customers through the Balticconnector gas pipeline. However, constraints on transmission capacity can make this challenging," the statement said.
On April 26, Gazprom submitted to Polish and Bulgarian importing companies a notification on suspension of gas supplies starting April 27 due to their refusal to make final payments in Russian rubles. Russian President Vladimir Putin 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.