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Russia To Cut Gas Flow To Finland Over Refusal To Pay In Rubles

May 20, 2022

Russia's Gazprom has informed Finland it will cut the flow of natural gas from May 21, the Finnish state-owned gas company Gasum said, after the wholesaler refused to pay in rubles.

Gasum CEO Mika Wiljanen called the move "highly regrettable" but said Gasum had been preparing for it and there would be no disruptions in Finland's gas transmission network.

Gazprom Export has demanded that European countries pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles because of sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Gazprom Export, the export arm of Gazprom, confirmed it would suspend gas sales for Gasum starting from May 21 and that it was because Gasum had not paid it for gas in rubles.

The move follows Finland's decision earlier this week to apply to join NATO as it seeks to bolster its security in light of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Moscow has already cut off gas to other countries, including Bulgaria and Poland, after they refused to comply with the new payment terms.

The majority of gas used in Finland comes from Russia, but gas only accounts for about 5 percent of its annual energy consumption.

Gasum said it would continue to supply gas to Finnish customers from other sources through a pipeline connecting Finland with Estonia.

Finland also agreed on May 20 to charter a storage and regasification vessel from a U.S company to help replace Russian supplies. The vessel turns supercooled liquefied natural gas back into gas.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-cuts- finland-gas-nato/31860493.html

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.