Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday gas contracts with Western nations will be frozen if they refuse to pay in rubles, APA reports citing Teletrader.
He added Moscow will consider the contracts are not fulfilled if countries on the "unfriendly" list do not pay in the Russian currency starting from April 1.
In order to buy gas from Russia, Western countries will have to open accounts in Russian banks, Putin said as he signed a decree on gas exports. He informed that special accounts for gas payments will be opened in Gazprombank.