Media: The Hague will ask for temporary lifting of sanctions against Russia because of gas

The Dutch city of The Hague will ask for a temporary exemption of EU sanctions against Russia, as it struggles to find a replacement for its contract with Russian gas supplier Gazprom in time, Report informs referring to Reuters.

Sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine order governments and other public bodies to end existing contracts with Russian companies by October 10.

For The Hague, this means it has to find a new supplier of gas to replace its existing agreement with Gazprom.

The city said it held an EU-wide tender in June and July, but failed to attract any bids from potential suppliers.

Individual talks with suppliers were certain to lead to an agreement, alderman Saskia Bruines wrote in a letter to the city council, but not before the October 10 deadline.

"We will ask for an exemption for our current arrangement until January 1, 2023 to guarantee the safety of supply and to facilitate negotiations," she said.