OREANDA-NEWS. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called Gazprom's statement about the suspension of gas supplies blackmail. The European Union was ready for such a scenario and is already preparing for retaliatory measures, she wrote on her Twitter account.

Gazprom's statement is yet another attempt by Russia to blackmail us with gas. We are ready for such a scenario. We are developing our coordinated response,” she concluded.

The head of the EC assured the Europeans that there is nothing to be afraid of and stressed that the Commission is “united and in solidarity with the affected member states.

Earlier, Gazprom Export sent a notice to Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and PGNiG (Poland) to suspend gas supplies from April 27 due to late payment in rubles. As the exporter specified, foreign companies were notified in advance about the change in the payment scheme. Gazprom added that Bulgaria and Poland are transit states and if there is an unauthorized withdrawal of Russian gas from pumped volumes to third countries, supplies will be reduced by this volume.

Against the backdrop of this decision by Gazprom, the price of gas in Europe at the opening of exchange trading increased by 21% - above $1,350 per thousand cubic meters. The price of May futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands rose to $1,374 per thousand cubic meters, or €125 per MWh.