Macron says France doesn't need gas from Russia

According to Macron, his country does not need Russian gas, but the EU is dependent on it. Earlier, the president said he could appoint a minister for energy planning,

Europe depends on gas from RUSSIA, but France does not need it, French President Emmanuel Macron said on France 5 TV channel.

“We are working hard to buy it elsewhere. <...> France does not need it,” said Macron (quoted from Le Parisien).

According to Macron, it is necessary to "do everything" to force Russia to stop the military operation in Ukraine, including imposing an embargo on Russian oil .

Over the weekend, the French president announced that he was considering appointing an energy planning minister who would be responsible for reducing the country's dependence on gas, oil and coal.

France announced the possibility of paying for Russian gas in euros Politics

The European Union has introduced five packages of sanctions against Russia in connection with the military operation in Ukraine. The latter was approved in early April and includes, among other things, a ban on the purchase, import or transit of coal and other solid fossil fuels from Russia. It will begin to operate in August, until that time the parties can fulfill contracts concluded before April 9. The HEAD of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the work on the sixth package, within which Brussels is considering issues related to the energy sector. The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, also spoke about the inevitability of these measures, according to whom restrictions against oil and gas from Russia "sooner or later will be required."

On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on payments in rubles for natural gas supplies to countries that the authorities consider "unfriendly" (all EU countries were included in the list). According to the document, companies from Western countries must open accounts in Russian banks. The new sales rules came into effect on April 1. The G7 countries and the European Union said they would not pay for gas in rubles. At the same time, the French Minister of Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, said on April 1 that the possibility of paying for gas in euros remained. Countries that buy gas from Russia make payments in euros through a bank, which will then convert the currency into rubles.

In early April, Lithuania announced that it was the first in the European Union to completely abandon Russian gas. According to the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borel, all European countries can achieve this within two years. President Vladimir Putin said that  Russia will be able to increase domestic consumption of oil, gas and coal, increase their processing, and also find alternative external markets.

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