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"Several traders, maybe more than five, have started payments,"
one source said on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorised to speak to the media.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that countries he
terms "unfriendly" must pay for gas in roubles or be cut off.
Under the new Russian payment system, buyers are obliged to
deposit euros or dollars into an account at Gazprombank, which
has then to convert them into roubles, place the proceeds in
another account owned by the foreign buyer and transfer the
payment in Russian currency to Gazprom.
The scheme was designed as a response to sweeping Western
sanctions against Russia following the start of what Moscow
calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Gazprom and Gazprombank did not respond to requests for comment
on Thursday.
The European Commission has accused Moscow of blackmail over its
demand to be paid in roubles but in an advisory note issued last
week, the Commission said buyers of Russian gas could
participate in the scheme if they could confirm payment was
complete once they had deposited euros, as opposed to later when
the euros were converted to roubles.
Russia cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday
after they refused to pay in roubles under the new arrangement
stipulated by Putin. [L2N2WP1MN]
A senior European Union official said on Thursday that Poland
and Bulgaria both used their existing method to pay for Russian
gas before Moscow cut their gas supplies, and the countries did
not comply with Moscow's proposed mechanism to pay in roubles.
The Kremlin has said payments for deliveries that took place
after Putin's decree took effect were expected in May. A source
named May 20 as "validation" date for payments.
There have been mixed signals from Gazprom's top consumers of
gas about the rouble scheme of payments.
Three sources said on Thursday that Italian energy group Eni has
yet to make a decision regarding the payment scheme Russia has
introduced and is waiting for clarity on whether it amounts to a
breach of sanctions.
Uniper, Germany's main importer of Russian gas, said on Monday
it would be possible to pay for future supplies without
breaching European Union sanctions. However, it later said that
no decision had been made.
Hungary has said it plans to pay for Russian gas in euros
through Gazprombank, which will convert the payment into roubles
to meet the new requirement.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by David Evans)
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