Companies in the EU may have discovered a way to pay for Russia’s gas in rubles without violating sanctions, the European Commission said on Friday.
The companies would need to pay in euros or dollars, which would then be converted into rubles, although the transactions would also have to be accompanied by a statement explaining how the companies consider their contractual obligations to be complete once they submitted the euros or dollars.
Russia had set a March 31 deadline for “unfriendly” or “hostile” nations to start paying in rubles for natural gas, although the EU initially balked at such a demand, arguing that such a demand would be a breach of contract on Russia’s behalf and that paying in rubles would violate sanctions.

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