Russia stops fuel supply to Bulgaria and Poland; EU accuses of gas blac

Moscow/Brussels: Russia has realised the warning of an equivalent retaliation against the western sanctions. Russia stopped fuel supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, both members of the European Union. Both these countries had refused the Russian proposal to pay in the Russian currency Rouble for the fuels purchased. After that, Russia stopped fuel supplies to these two countries. A strong reaction has emanated from the Union over the Russian action. European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen accused that this Russian action amounts to ‘blackmail’.

The western countries imposed stringent sanctions against Russia after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. This resulted in a crash in the value of the Russian Rouble. Russia took some aggressive decisions to recover the value of the Rouble. These included the decision to receive payments for the fuels sold in Roubles. But some countries from Europe opposed this and indicated searching for alternative fuel sources. Poland had taken the lead in this. Poland has also repeatedly demanded that sanctions be imposed on fuel imports from Russia.

Against this background, the Russian fuel supply company Gazprom decided to stop the supply of fuels to Poland and Bulgaria. Gazprom said that the supply was stopped as the payments due for the supplies made in April were not received in Roubles. The company has warned that the supplies will not resume until the payments are received in Roubles. Strong reactions have emanated from the European Union along with the two countries. Poland has warned that Russia has breached the agreement and has warned of legal action. At the same time, Bulgaria criticised that the Gazprom decision was politically motivated and warned that the other European countries would also be affected. European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen accused that the Russian decision amounts to ‘blackmail’. Leyen also claimed that the decision proves that Russia is not a trusted partner and fuel supplier. An emergency meeting of the fuel group of the Union has been called after that.

Meanwhile, Austria, which purchases fuels from Russia, has indicated that it will accept the condition of payments in Roubles. Russia clarified that Austrian fuel company OMV shared this information. Before this, Hungary also has accepted the condition to clear the Russian fuel bills in Roubles. Nearly 40% of the European fuel requirement is imported from Russia. Although various stringent sanctions have been imposed on Russia, the European Union has failed to impose sanctions on fuel imports from Russia. The European countries are making frantic efforts to search for an alternative to Russian fuel. But Qatar and other Gulf countries have taken a clear stand that there cannot be an alternative to Russian fuel. This seems to have badly cornered the European Union.