Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that sanctions have disrupted exports from Russia’s lucrative oil and gas industry and caused costs in the sector to rise.

The New York Times reported that on Thursday (April 14) Putin held a working meeting on the situation in Russia’s oil and gas industry by video from his residence near Moscow.

Putin told the meeting that Russian energy was under pressure to pay for exports, accusing countries unfriendly to Russia of delaying transfers. “We have raised this issue many times, and now the most pressing issue is the disruption of export logistics,” he said.

Putin emphasized that under the background of Western sanctions, Russia’s energy sector faces three major strategic challenges.

According to the Kremlin, Putin believes that one of the most serious problems brought about by Western sanctions on the Russian energy industry is the export supply side, and measures should be taken to simplify the transportation chain and overcome difficulties caused by increased transportation costs.

Putin said that on the issue of energy export, it is Russia’s task to change the settlement currency from foreign currency to domestic currency, increase the share of domestic currency settlement, and gradually get rid of the US dollar and the euro. ready.

Putin also emphasized that from the perspective of financial and economic security, rejecting “unreliable and discredited foreign currencies” and “the rulings of other countries” is Russia’s strategic task. At the same time, in order to maintain and improve foreign trade, it is also crucial to establish stable relationships with reliable partners.