Italy will keep paying for Russian gas in euros, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday, after Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria over their refusal to pay for gas in roubles.
"Until now, all gas imports from Russia have been continuing as normal. The request to pay in roubles is a contractual breach," Di Maio told reporters in Strasbourg where he joined premier Mario Draghi on a visit to the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.
"There will be a decision made at European level, but it's clear that our contracts stipulate payment in euros, and we will pay in euros," Di Maio added.
In move aimed at shoring up the faltering rouble, which has been battered by unprecedented Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched on 24 February, president Vladimir Putin last month decreed that all energy payments must be made in the Russian currency.
