OREANDA-NEWS. Failures are observed in payment for deliveries of Russian energy resources abroad. Payments are delayed by countries unfriendly to Russia. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting on the situation in the oil and gas sector, his words are quoted by Interfax.

Banks from these most “unfriendly” countries are delaying the transfer of payments,” the head of state said.

At the same time, he recalled the task of transferring payments for energy resources to the national currency and gradually moving away from the dollar and the euro.

The President also instructed to reorient the export of energy resources from the West to the markets of the South and East. According to him, for this it is necessary to identify key infrastructure facilities in the near future and begin their construction.

Putin demanded that Europe transfer payments for Russian gas supplies to rubles in March. He explained this by saying that the dollar and the euro had "compromised" themselves. The authorities of a number of European powers have stated that they do not intend to pay for fuel in rubles, since this would be a violation of existing contracts. In addition, the EU said that this is contrary to the sanctions imposed on Russia.

Director of the Energy Development Fund Sergei Pikin said earlier that the countries of Europe, which now refuse to pay for gas in rubles, will agree to this condition by the summer of 2022. According to him, the EU has no alternative to Russian fuel.