French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and German Economic Minister Robert Habeck declared on Thursday that their countries would no longer purchase Russian gas in rubles. They requested an inspection of the euro-denominated gas deal.

At a Berlin press conference, the German minister stated that the EU would not be "blackmailed" into using rubles to purchase gas, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's earlier announcement that the EU's common currency would be converted to rubles upon arrival in Russia.

By Friday, the Russian President stated, countries that imposed sanctions on the Russian central bank in response to the special military operation launched in Ukraine last February (unfriendly countries) would be required to pay in rubles for Russian gas; otherwise, their correspondent supply would be cut off.

Habeck urged European countries to observe gas contracts with Russia negotiated in the euro. In a statement released by the Group of Seven major countries, He stated, "We will under no circumstances accept paying for gas deliveries in a currency other than the contractually agreed currency."

The Russian President, German Chancellor, and French President spoke via phone on Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a system in which both countries continue to pay in euros, which would be changed to rubles by Russia's Gazprombank. According to a German official, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, "Olaf Scholz did not agree to this procedure in the conversation, but asked for written information to better understand the procedure," "France is against paying in rubles." the French side stated.

Whether Habeck and Le Maire's stubbornness in completing the initial contracts in euros represents a complete rejection of Putin's euros-to-rubles proposal on Wednesday, Germany's Economy Minister stated that the government is prepared to face the possibility of the Russian gas supply being shut off if no deal is reached.

Moscow announced that it would sever ties with European countries that refused to pay in rubles for gas. According to Kommersant, a Russian daily, the energy corporation Gazprom is "considering the possibility of a complete halt in gas supplies … and is assessing the consequences of such a step."