Neither Gazprom nor the Kremlin shed light on how they will implement Putin’s announcement that Russia’s gas trade with Europe will shift into rubles. Neither Gazprom nor the Kremlin could shed much light Thursday on how they will implement President Vladimir Putin’s surprise announcement that Russia’s massive gas trade with Europe will be shifted into rubles. “This decision looks a lot like it was mainly for show,” said Oleg Vyugin, a former top Russian Finance Ministry official. “The consequences aren’t completely clear and probably everyone will wind up paying differently, some in rubles, some in euros.” European gas buyers were burning up the phones to Gazprom with questions about how the new approach is supposed to work but the gas giant had no immediate answers. Officials in Germany and Italy — among the biggest buyers — warned that the idea would violate existing contracts. A senior Russian official, speaking […]