The EU says it's unacceptable for the Kremlin to cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland because they're refusing to pay in Russia's own currency.
President Putin brought-in the rule - a move aimed at propping-up the rouble - in response to Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
Lisa Ryan Professor of Energy Economics at UCD says while there could be wider implications for Europe, it will hurt Russia more.
The Russian giant Gazprom announced that it has halted gas exports to Bulgaria and Poland over their refusal to pay for supplies in Roubles.
The gas corporations said that gas will not be piped to the countries until the situation is remedied and payments are made in Russian currency.
This followed Russian President Vladimir Putin making a dictate that all ''unfriendly'' countries should pay in Roubles.
Gazprom fully halts gas supplies to Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz and Poland’s PGNiG due to their failure to pay in rubleshttps://t.co/TriIMjWpyB
— Gazprom (@GazpromEN) April 27, 2022
Poland confirmed supplies had stopped, but Bulgaria said it was still unclear whether supplies had been halted.
Poland's deputy foreign minister said the country could cope without Gazprom's gas and had "taken some decisions many years ago to prepare for such a situation".
