Türkiye asks US to ease sanctions against Gazprombank to pay Russia for gas
Türkiye is negotiating with the United States to ease sanctions against Russia, which would allow it to continue using Gazprombank to pay for natural gas imports.
Source: Bloomberg
Details: Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that without US permission, "we won’t be able to pay Russia".
"If there is no exemption, it may amount to something very big for Türkiye," the minister said. He recalled previous instances when sanctions related to Iran were eased by granting special permits.
Russia is the largest gas supplier to Türkiye, accounting for about 42% of imports in 2023.
In general, Türkiye is heavily dependent on Russia in the energy sector, including importing about half of its oil and building a nuclear power plant with Russian assistance.
Türkiye and Russia are planning to establish a gas hub in Türkiye and are considering the possibility of laying new underwater gas pipelines.
Background:
- In 2022, the United States introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia. The sanctions included approximately 2,600 visa restrictions for Russian and Belarusian officials, as well as the first sanctions against Gazprombank executives.
- In June 2022, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on partners to disconnect Russian Gazprombank from SWIFT.
- On 27 January 2023, Russian Gazprombank stopped cross-border transfers in US dollars.
- The United States imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, one of the few major Russian lenders not yet blacklisted, to limit the Kremlin's ability to finance its military efforts.
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