Moscow: The Russian energy giant Gazprom has signed an agreement with China to start payments for gas supplies to China in Yuan and Roubles instead of US Dollars. The move is a sign of the warm relations between Beijing and Moscow, which has been under sanctions by the Western nations. Though the details on the implementation of scheme and when it is scheduled to come into effect, haven’t yet been provided.
The new payment mechanism would prove beneficial, a timely, reliable and practical solution, said Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller after a video conference meeting with the head of China’s oil group CNPC, Dai Houliang. Miller further added that this would make the calculations simpler and become an excellent example for other companies as well.
The change is a part of the Russian urge to reduce its dependence upon US Dollar, Euro and other hard currencies, which was accelerated by the Western sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.
Following that, Russia has been working towards building closer economic ties with China as well as other non-western countries. The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, forced the European customers to open Rouble bank accounts with Gazprom Bank and make all the payments in the Russian currency if they wished to continue receiving gas from Russia.
The gas supplies from Russia have been discontinued to some companies and the countries which had refused the terms of the deal. Moreover, the supplies to Europe have also been halted and Russia has insisted on lifting the sanctions to have the gas supplies resumed in the continent.
