On Monday, the Yle news outlet reported that the Finnish state-run energy provider Gasum, is going to continue to buy gas from Russia, according to a statement from the company.

According to the statement, the purchases are being made under a long-term gas supply contract with Russia, which had been signed before the Ukraine-related EU sanctions and Russian counter-sanctions were introduced the past year. The contract will be valid for “several more years,” according to the company, and as a result it is obliged to pay under the contract, and it does not intend to breach the agreement.

In an email to Yle, the company explained, “The contract is a so-called take-or-pay contract, which is common in gas supply contracts. It means that Gasum is obliged to pay for a certain amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) every year, whether we get it from Russia or not.” The company pointed out it had no legal means to terminate the contract or take it to arbitration.

Last year, after the EU levied sanctions against Moscow, Russia demanded that any buyers in countries which supported the sanctions would have to pay for their gas supplies in rubles, instead of dollars or euros. After Finland refused to change its means of payments, Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom suspended all pipeline deliveries to the country.

Finland continued, however to import liquified natural gas (LNG) from the Russian Novatek’s Cryogas-Vysotsk LNG plant. Gasum claims that to avoid a breach, it only imports the bare minimum amount of gas.

The company explained, “Gasum has only imported the minimum amount of LNG from Russia as stipulated in the contract. We have not agreed on any additional shipments and we do not intend to do so in the future.”

According to Finnish customs service data Gasum has purchased roughly $188 million in natural gas from Russia since February of 2022.

In 2021, Finland received 1.49 billion cubic meters of gas from Gazprom, which was roughly equal to two-thirds of the nation’s total consumption.