Russian energy giant Gazprom on Tuesday warned authorities in Poland and Bulgaria that it would halt gas supplies after Warsaw, chaired by Vladimir Putin, imposed fresh sanctions on individuals and companies in the country.
The measure, which comes into effect this Wednesday (27th), will make the countries the first to have the product’s supply from the main supplier in Europe cut since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th. The move hints at a tougher Moscow response to Western sanctions which the Russian president has already described as an “escalation of the situation.”
Bulgaria and Poland are members of the European Union and NATO, the western military alliance.
The announcement of the suspension came from Warsaw and Sofia, which said on Tuesday their stateowned companies had received a warning about the cut. For its part, the Russian company claimed in the Polish case that it is not interrupting supplies, but is asking the country to pay for the gas according to the rules of its new “payment order” no comment was made on Bulgaria.
The reference relates to a recent ruling by Putin, according to which countries he deems “hostile” would have to open accounts with Gazprombank to make payments for gas imports in euros or dollars, which would then be converted into rubles.
Few buyers, such as Hungary and Germany’s main importer Uniper, said it was possible to pay for the product under the new regime without violating European sanctions.
war in Ukraine
Bulgaria claims to have “completely fulfilled its obligations” and to have made the payments stipulated in the contract “on time”. The Balkan country also denounced “the new twostage payment procedure proposed by the Russian side”.
“It doesn’t fit into the contract that will be in place until the end of this year and poses significant risks for the Bulgarian side, such as: B. Making payments without receiving gas supplies from the Russian side.”
Both Sofia and Warsaw have expiring contracts at the end of this year and said on Tuesday there would be no shortage of the product even if they were cut.
Poland’s contract with Gazprom is for 10.2 billion cubic meters per year, covering about 50% of national consumption. Authorities explained that the country has stored 76% of its production capacity and has an alternative supply. “We have declared from the first day of the war that we are ready for complete independence from Russian raw materials,” wrote Climate Minister Anna Moskva on Twitter.
The Polish stateowned gas company, which has already said it will not agree to the new ruble payment system or extend the agreement, said it will act to restore contracted supplies and seek compensation for violating applicable rules.
On the Bulgarian side, about 90% of the gas consumed is supplied by Russia. The government said it had taken “measures to seek alternative supply arrangements” and assured that no restrictive measures on consumption were planned for the time being.
Also on Tuesday, Kyiv responded to the episode by accusing Moscow of blackmailing Europe. “Russia is trying to destroy the unity of our allies. It also proves that energy sources are a weapon,” said Andrii Iermak, President Volodmyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.
“Therefore, Europe must come together and impose an embargo on energy resources to deprive the Russians of these weapons.”
Tom MarzecManser, head of gas analysis at data intelligence firm ICIS, said the suspension was “a seismic alert triggered by Putin.” “Poland has had an antiRussian and antiGazprom stance for several years, which is not the case with Bulgaria. So when you see that Bulgaria has cut back [o fornecimento de gás] It’s also a huge development in itself.”
As a neighboring country to Ukraine and a destination for many war refugees, Poland has proven to be one of Russia’s most staunch political opponents and is among the Europeans looking for tougher responses to the invasion.
Earlier on Tuesday, the government announced a list of 50 Russian oligarchs and companies, including Gazprom, who would be subject to sanctions under a law passed earlier this month allowing their assets to be frozen the legislation comes on top of measures imposed by the EU .