Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that the Kremlin's demand that European countries must pay for Russian gas supplies in the local currency (the ruble) is "a violation of contracts," the Italian newspaper, "Messaggero" said.
"It is basically a contractual violation, so contracts are considered in violation if Russia implements this clause," Draghi told reporters before the start of the European summit in Brussels on Thursday, in response to a question in this regard.
The Italian Prime Minister also described the natural gas market as "suffering from an imbalance and prices are subject to speculation, and there is a need to take measures, but specific measures were not discussed, indicating that the European summit will discuss this issue."
It is worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced that his country will only accept payment in ruble for Russian energy supplies to "unfriendly" countries, meaning all EU countries, after Brussels imposed several packages of economic sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
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