RE: Putin demands roubles for Russian gas31 Mar 2022 17:15
Troajan,
Putin can print as many roubles as he wants, just like our Chancellor has been playing the QE game. He wants to force his energy buyers to buy roubles to pay their bills so there is support for the collapsed currency. And at the moment when Germany pays him Euros for energy it goes into a bank account that Russia is blocked from spending from because of sanctions.
Basically he is selling energy and the funds are going into an account the West has eyes on to pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine. No wonder he wants to change the rules of the game.