India was targeted for buying Russian oil, real culprit is EU

While the western media and diplomacy orchestrated a campaign against India for buying Russian oil and gas and breaking the global queue on sanctions, but it is EU oil and gas companies that are exploiting deliberately vague sanction rules and buying hydrocarbons from Moscow by paying in Roubles.

Amidst ongoing concerns expressed in Western media reports regarding a possible Rupee-Rouble arrangement between India and Russia, it appears that it is the EU countries that are increasingly complying with Russian requirements for payments for the supply of Russian gas in Roubles. This is despite the fact that the war in Ukraine is seen as a war on Europe and in response, the EU has imposed unprecedented sanctions.

On 31 March 2022, Russia had imposed a requirement for gas-related payments to be made in Roubles for companies located in ‘unfriendly countries’, which includes obviously the EU. Reports coming from Europe in recent days indicate that a large number of companies from several EU member countries are complying with these requirements. Translated simply, this is a Euro-Rouble arrangement, as it entails opening two bank accounts – one in Roubles and another in Euros – in the Russian Gazprombank, which is not included among the banks sanctioned by the EU. The payments are initially made in euros and then get converted into roubles within the bank. The companies that are doing so include those located in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia, among others. The list of such companies is growing by the day, especially after Russia halted gas supplies to Bulgaria, Poland, and Finland, because their companies refused to comply with the Russian requirement for gas payments to be made in Roubles. Russia has also stated that it would be publishing the full list of such EU companies soon.

To know more: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-was-targeted-for-buying-russian-oil-real-culprit-is-eu-101653617592785.html