As a response to a new round of severe sanctions introduced by the EU countries against Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin on 23 March 2022 announced that he had made a decision whereby payments for Russian pipeline gas would be switched from "the currencies that had been compromised" (US dollar and euro) to payments in roubles vis-à-vis the previously formally designated "unfriendly countries", including all European Union states; on 28 March, he ordered the Central Bank of Russia, the government, and Gazprom to present proposals by March 31 for gas payments in rubles from "unfriendly countries".[1][2][3] President Putin′s move was construed to be aimed at forcing European companies to directly prop up the Russian currency as well as bringing Russia's Central Bank back into the global financial system after the sanctions had nearly cut it off from financial markets.[4] ING bank's chief economist, Carsten Brzeski, told Deutsche Welle he thought the gas-for-ruble demand was "a smart move".[4]