Russia to halt gas supplies to Netherlands from Tuesday

Russia's Gazprom Export has said it would suspend gas supplies to Dutch energy company GasTerra from Tuesday due to its refusal to pay in rubles.

"By the end of the working day on Monday (the payment deadline outlined in the contract), Gazprom Export did not receive any payments from GasTerra for the gas supplied in April," local media reported citing Gazprom Export on Monday.

GasTerra announced that it did not intend to pay for the supplied gas in rubles, Gazprom said, adding that it would suspend deliveries from May 31 until a payment is made in accordance with a Russian presidential decree from March, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on March 31 on new rules regarding natural gas trade with "unfriendly" countries and regions. According to the decree, existing contracts would be halted if these buyers refused to pay in rubles.