Russia: Putin tells experts to work on trade payments with allies and 'unfriendly' states
May 9 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the creation of a working group on international payments whose tasks will include figuring out terms for transactions with "unfriendly" states.
Putin said in March that Russia, the world's largest natural gas producer, would require countries it deems hostile to pay for fuel in roubles by opening accounts at Gazprombank and making payments in euros or dollars, to be converted into Russian currency.