Putin discusses gas supplies with Italian Prime Minister

On Tuesday, May 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi held a telephone conversation. This is stated in a message posted on the Kremlin website.

The main topics of the talks were energy security issues. In particular, the parties discussed the natural gas supply to Italy.

"During the discussion of energy security issues, the Russian side confirmed its intention to continue to ensure uninterrupted supplies of natural gas to Italy at the prices fixed in the contracts," the statement said.

Let us remind you that at the end of March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to transfer payments for Russian gas supplies to European countries, which the Kremlin considers "unfriendly", into rubles. Reuters reported last week, citing sources, that German and Italian authorities allowed their companies to open accounts in rubles in order to continue paying for Russian gas without violating sanctions against Russia.