Gazprom mulling ways to stop supplying 'unfriendly' countries - report

Gazprom is looking at ways to halt gas supplies to so-called "unfriendly" countries, it was reported on Thursday.

According to Reuters, quoting Russian daily Kommersant, the energy giant is "working on an option of a complete stoppage of gas supplies to unfriendly counties, and is evaluating the consequences of such measures".

Russian president Vladimir Putin has already said unfriendly countries should pay for gas in roubles only, and told both the country’s central bank and Gazprom to prepare for the new payment scheme by the end of March.

A number of European countries have already insisted they will not pay in roubles, however, and on Wednesday, Germany - Russia’s largest gas client - said it would continue to pay in euros or dollars.

The move also coincided with reports that European Union antitrust regulators had raided Gazprom’s German offices on Thursday, as part of an investigation into the company’s gas supplies to the bloc.

Gazprom accounts for around 40% of all gas supplies to EU countries.

Neither Gazprom nor the European Commission have commented on the reports.