OREANDA-NEWS. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov expressed hope that Europe would reconsider its statement about the impossibility of buying gas for rubles. He told RT about this.

“I hope they change their mind, use the time they have left to find a creative solution to this situation,” he said.

Earlier it was reported that the European Union took part in the discussion by a group of G7 countries of the issue of paying for Russian gas in rubles, so the conclusions of the G7 countries are also valid for the EU. This was stated during the briefing by the official representative of the European Commission, Eric Mamer.

Speaking about the meeting of energy ministers of the G7 countries that took place the day before, Mamer stressed that the participants in the discussion rejected Russia's demand to pay for gas supplies in rubles.

On March 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government, the Bank of Russia and PJSC Gazprom to implement measures to transfer payments for gas with unfriendly countries into rubles by March 31.

Later, the G7 countries decided to urge local companies not to accept ruble bills for Russian gas supplies. The corresponding agreement was reached at an emergency meeting of the energy ministers of Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.