WASHINGTON, March 29. /TASS/. Moscow has no intention of engaging in charity and providing gas to Europe for free if European Union countries refuse to pay for gas in rubles, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told PBS.

When asked whether Russia would cut off its gas exports to Europe if EU countries refused to pay in rubles, Peskov said: "I don’t know what is going to happen when they reject this possibility. As soon as we have a final decision, we’ll see what can be done. Definitely, we’re not going to make charity out of that and send gas free of charge to Western Europe."

"No payment, no gas," the Kremlin spokesman emphasized.

When asked how concerned Moscow was about the fact that some of its best customers for gas, namely Germany, were "turning their backs on Russia," Peskov said: "We wouldn't want to see it in our reality."

Russian President Vladimir Putin handed down instructions on March 23 to start charging in rubles for Russian gas supplies to unfriendly countries.