Germany's Uniper Will Obviously Have to Pay for Russian Gas in Rubles, AfD Co-Chair Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - German energy company Uniper will obviously have to pay for the next supply of Russian gas in rubles, Tino Chrupalla, the co-chairman of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said in an interview with Sputnik.

The company said earlier this week that it does not consider the new scheme of payment for Russian gas in rubles as contradicting anti-Russian sanctions, adding that such payment is possible. According to Uniper, the nearest payment should take place in late May.

"As the next month — May — approaches, it becomes clear that German importer Uniper will have to pay for gas in rubles with the next bill. There are currently talks that Uniper will make its payments to Gazprom in euros to an account in Russia. This is intended to satisfy both the demands of Russia and the sanctions regime," Chrupalla said.

At the same time, the politician noted that such a balance will be impossible to maintain in the long term.

"European currencies should strengthen not only in gas trade but also in energy trade. The era of the petrodollar is coming to an end", Chrupalla added.

Back in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree mandating that payments for natural gas must be made in rubles. It requires importers to deposit their payments in euros and dollars in accounts at Gazprombank, which had already been sanctioned by some of those states.

The step came as a response to sanctions, including the freezing of Russian assets by the US and other Western countries, imposed against Moscow following the start of the special military operation in Ukraine.