Kremlin demands rubles for gas, EU leaders push back

By FRANCES D’EMILIO and GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted Thursday that the country’s natural gas must be paid for with rubles, a demand apparently intended to help bolster the Russian currency but one that European leaders say they will not comply with because it violates the terms of contracts and sanctions. Putin said Russia will start accepting ruble payments Friday and gas supplies will be cut off if buyers don’t agree to the new conditions, including opening ruble accounts in Russian banks, from which the gas payments will be made. European leaders cautiously insisted they will continue to pay in euros and dollars and want to see the fine print of how the Kremlin will implement its decree.