Moscow's latest decision to switch to its national currency for gas payments was made to secure Russia's ability to trade and to ensure that its producers receive their money despite Ukraine-related Western sanctions, according to Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to President Vladimir Putin.

"Amid this growing distrust toward reserve currencies [US dollar and euro], the president put forward the idea of the necessity of hedging risks so that [Western states] would not try to rob us again. And therefore we introduced this [mechanism] of payments in rubles… for the most important commodities. In this case, we are talking about natural gas," Peskov explained. He noted that the move did not aim to "punch anyone in the nose."

"We don't want to make life difficult for our customers. Russia has always been a reliable supplier. Russia values its reputation as a reliable supplier. Of course, we will not do anything that will undermine this reputation," he stressed.