The American newspaper The Washington Post pointed out that “gas companies in the EU countries, which Russia classifies as “unfriendly”, eventually gave in to Moscow’s demands and agreed to pay for Russian natural gas under the new system (in rubles). ) fearing an energy crisis, in violation of her previous statements.

And she pointed out in the article that this step “was taken to avoid interruptions in the supply of gas and brought victory to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.” She explained that the EU countries are discussing measures to reduce dependence on energy supplies from Russia, “but in the short term they are making great efforts to avoid an energy crisis,” noting that this was one of the factors for the strengthening of the ruble.

The newspaper recalled that the supply of natural gas from Russia to Poland and Bulgaria ceased after these countries refused to pay for gas in rubles. “However, it appears that most EU countries have taken a different path and dropped their claims that they reject blackmail and have come to terms with existing arrangements on (new) technical grounds,” she added.