Journalists The Washington Post opined that some countries of the European Union have spurred them to agree to Moscow’s demands for a new, ruble-denominated payment scheme for gas supplies.
According to the publication, despite loud statements and discussions of measures to reduce dependence on Russian energy carriers, European companies for the most part gave in to Moscow’s demands in an effort to avoid an energy crisis.
“In the short term, the EU … seeks to avoid an energy crisis … therefore, they obeyed the requirements of the Russian President to buy natural gas using a new complex payment system,” the report says.
According to journalists, such concessions are “Putin’s victory in terms of public relations”, but, nevertheless, allow to avoid gas shutdowns.