Finland is preparing to cut off natural gas supplies from Russia in May, the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper reports.
Russian energy giant Gazprom has asked the Finnish state-owned energy company Gasum to give a response before May 20 regarding Russia’s request to receive payments for gas in rubles. According to Helsingin Sanomat, Finland, as well as most of Europe, could cut off Russian gas supplies on May 21.
Finnish officials say that without Russian gas, Finland will need to search for alternative sources, such as the Baltic Connector pipeline, or reduce production.
Finnish Minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen said on Wednesday that Finland had decided not to agree to Russia’s terms on ruble payments for gas.
Meanwhile, Gazprom has an active contract with Gasum. At the start of April, Gazprom sent a letter to Gasum, notifying the company of the new terms of their contract, namely the provision to pay for gas in the Russian national currency.
In late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government and Gazprom to switch gas payments by countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia to rubles. This came after several countries imposed restrictions on Russia in response to its special military operation in Ukraine.