ROME (Reuters) – Italy does not believe that supplies of gas from Russia will be cut off as a result of a dispute over the currency for payment, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday.
“No they are not in danger,” Draghi told a news conference when asked about gas supplies.
He also said he believed that Russia had stepped back from demanding payment in roubles, prospect it had raised as a reaction to Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.
“I don’t think the Western countries have done anything except say that it would be unacceptable to pay in roubles, if not impossible,” Draghi said.
“I think there has been a process of reflection within Russia that has led to an understanding of what it means to pay in roubles”.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Angelo Amante; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Giulia Segreti)
