Europe continued this Friday, April 1, to receive gas from Russia, despite a decree signed Thursday by Vladimir Putin that Russian gas must be paid for in rubles, in an attempt by the Russian president to retaliate against sanctions imposed by the West over the invasion of Ukraine, reports "Reuters"..

Western sanctions imposed during the war left Russia isolated from much of the world's trade, with exceptions made for oil and gas.

The order signed by Vladimir Putin with a deadline set for this Friday for buyers from "hostile" countries to pay for Russian gas through rubles was seen by Germany, the largest buyer of Russian gas, as "blackmail."

Bruno le Maire, French Finance Minister, also showed his support for Germany and assured that France will also reject Russia's demands.

However, so far, two of the three main pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe, such as Nord Stream 1 through the Baltic Sea and to Slovakia over Ukraine are still in operation.

"If such payments are not made, we will consider this to be a default on the part of the buyers, with all the resulting consequences. Nobody sells us anything for free, and we will not give charity either - that is, existing contracts will be suspended," the Russian president said.