Russia to end gas supply to Finland from May 21 after Helsinki refuses to pay in Rubles

In a major development, the Finnish state gas company Gasum has announced that Russian energy corporation Gazprom has informed them that it will halt the supply of natural gas to Finland from Saturday, May 21. Gasum said that it will now supply natural gas to its customers from other sources through the Balticconnector pipeline from May 21. The development comes after Gasum refused to pay for Russian gas in rubles. 

"On the afternoon of Friday, May 20, Gazprom Export informed Gasum that natural gas supplies to Finland under Gasum’s supply contract will be cut on Saturday May 21, 2022 at 07.00," Gasum said in a statement.

According to the statement released by the Finnish state gas firm, Gasum’s gas filling stations will continue to have a normal operation. Mika Wiljanen, the CEO of Gasum, called it "highly regrettable" that natural gas supplies under the contract will now stop. Wiljanen stated that they had been preparing for the situation and assured that there will no disruption in the gas transmission. He asserted that Gasum will be able to supply gas to its customers in the coming months.

The decision of Gazprom comes even as Finland and Sweden on Wednesday, May 18, submitted their official applications to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for joining the military alliance. Stoltenberg welcomed the requests of Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance by saying "this is a good day, at a critical moment for our security." As per TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stressed that Moscow's response to Finland's decision to join NATO will be a "surprise" and it will be taken by the military after considering all the factors and specifics.

Gasum takes natural gas supply contract to arbitration

Earlier on May 17, Gasum had warned that Russia could halt gas supplies due to the dispute over payments. Gasum had said that they have a long-term gas supply contract with Gazprom and the companies were having negotiations since the autumn of last year. It further said that Gazprom had sent a letter requiring Gasum to pay for gas supplies in rubles instead of euros. The Finnish state gas firm announced that they do not accept Gazprom's demand to pay for gas imports in rubles. Gasum further announced that it had decided to take the dispute regarding the supply contract to arbitration as per the contract. The Finnish state gas firm in the statement said, "During the coming summer season, Gasum will aim to ensure the availability of natural gas for its Finnish customers through the Balticconnector gas pipeline. However, constraints on transmission capacity can make this challenging." It is worth mentioning that Russia cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria in April after they refused to pay in rubles. The decision came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered that "unfriendly" countries need to pay for their gas in rubles. 

Image: AP/Facebook/@SannaMarin