Poland will do everything to impose contractual fines on Russia after it stopped gas flows to the country, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday.
"We will do everything to charge Russia with contractual penalties, because this action is not legal and not contractual," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference from a gas power plant in Warsaw suburbs.
"We are not going to pay in rubles for Russian gas. We appeal to all our partners in the EU, not only not to pay in rubles for Russian gas. First of all, (we appeal to) create a special customs mechanism for gas and oil coming from Russia, so that Russia can’t easily acquire other markets. And secondly, (we appeal to) introduce so-called secondary sanctions," he added.
"Regarding further levels of – as we say in the energy sector, energy supply – here it’s about gas availability, there are several reserve plans already prepared in order to not be surprised by – only if really necessary – limitations. In that way, the Polish economy will suffer as least as possible from reducing its gas supply," Morawiecki said.
Russia's Gazprom halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday over their refusal to pay in roubles, cranking up an economic war with Europe in response to Western sanctions imposed for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Bulgaria and Poland are the only two European countries with Gazprom contracts due to expire at the end of this year, which meant their search for alternative supplies was advanced.
Poland, whose contract with Gazprom covers about 50% of its demand but which has been boosting its capacity to receive LNG, has long lobbied the bloc to end its reliance on Russian gas, which has been pumped to Europe since the 1970s during the Soviet era.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters