29.03.2022, Moscow.
Whatever payment option for gas Europe chooses, it will still have to lift some of its sanctions. Doctor of economic sciences Mikhail Belyaev stated this in a commentary to Rossa Primavera News Agency.
The economist listed the various options for the EU countries to pay for the gas supplied from Russia, subject to payment in rubles. According to him, any variant of payment for Russian gas is tantamount to the easing and lifting of sanctions against Russia.
“Westerners will accept the conditions for payment in rubles, but then they will have to supply us with goods according to our imports. That is, sell them to us and agree that we pay in rubles,” said Belyaev about the first option of the payments. He explained that in this case Russia will pay for imported goods in rubles, and foreign countries will pay for gas with these rubles.
“Second option, they themselves go to the stock exchange, buy rubles for their currency and pay for our supplies with these rubles,” added the scientist. According to him, the second case would imply either softening of sanctions of the West or lifting of the sanctions.
The countries of the West can choose the third option, the expert notes. He explained that in the third case, the West agrees that it can’t buy gas for rubles, and will return to paying in euros and dollars. Europe will continue to pay in euros without giving up paying for gas, and this is also an acceptable option for Russia.
“This is also quite an acceptable option, but only if the European countries will send us these euros not in a blocked account, but in an account that we can freely manage,” said Beliaev. According to him, it should be an account, the money from which Russia could buy all necessary goods or pay other obligations.
According to the economist, whatever decision on the payment is made in Europe, it will lead to the softening or lifting of part of the sanctions against Russia. “In my opinion, under these conditions, the Western side will understand all the unreasonableness, unproductive, unconstructive nature of this kind of sanctions action,” the expert concluded.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. The purpose of the operation is to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine and the Kiev regime. The US and European Union countries responded by imposing economic sanctions against Russia.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
After Western countries began banning Russian banks, withdrawing Russia from foreign currency transactions and blocking foreign accounts, the Russian president said that “unfriendly countries” would only be able to buy gas from Russia for rubles.
