RUSSIA TO CUT FINLAND’S NATURAL GAS SUPPLY

Moscow has told nations to make payments in rubles

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Russia will cut off natural gas to Finland after the Nordic country that applied for NATO membership this week refused President Vladimir Putin’s demand to pay in rubles, the Finnish state-owned energy company said Friday, the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine.

Finland is the latest country to lose the energy supply after rejecting Russia’s decree. Poland and Bulgaria were cut off last month but, along with Finland, were minor customers.

Putin has declared that “unfriendly foreign buyers” open two accounts in stateowned Gazprombank, one to pay in euros and dollars as specified in contracts and another in rubles.

The European Union’s executive arm has said the system does not violate EU sanctions if countries make a payment in the currency listed in their contracts and then formally signal that the payment process is concluded. But it says opening a second account in rubles would breach sanctions.

That has left countries scrambling to decide what to do next. Analysts say the EU stance is ambiguous enough to allow the Kremlin to keep trying to undermine unity among the 27 member countries — but losing major European customers like Italy and Germany would cost Russia heavily. It comes as Europe tries to reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas to avoid pouring funds into Putin’s war chest but build enough reserves before winter.

Finland refused the new payment system; energy company Gasum said its supply from Russia would be halted today.