Slovak state gas importer SPP has paid the euro bill for Russian natural gas and also opened a ruble account with Gazprombank, CEO Richard Prokopchak said.

“We have paid our obligations to Gazprom in euros,” Richard Prokopchak told RTVS, which said the payment was made on May 17.

“The invoice itself was issued in euros by Gazprom. After that, the money was sent to Gazprom's account, and I have confirmation that the payment was received,” Prokipchak said. After the conversion, which will end with the transfer of rubles to Gazprom, the gas supply continues.

While the European Commission has advised companies not to open a ruble-denominated bank account with Gazprombank, it has not explicitly said that doing so would violate sanctions in its official written guidance, Reuters reports.

“Foreign currency conversion is beyond any control of SPP, for us the really important moment of fulfilling our obligations is the payment in euro,” Prokopchak said.