ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has received an exemption for gas payments to Russia after the United States imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday in
Turkey Granted Waiver for Gas Payments to Russia Amid Sanctions
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has received an exemption for gas payments to Russia after the United States imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday in response to a question from Reuters.
The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank in November, creating an obstacle for buyers of Russian gas, which had been using the bank to make payments. They have since been seeking clarification and exploring other ways to pay.
Turkey imports almost all its gas requirement and Russia is the top supplier, providing more than 50% of the country's pipeline imports. Ankara's pipeline gas imports from Russia stood at 21.1 bcm last year.
Turkey had requested an exemption in discussions with U.S. officials so that it can continue paying for Russian natural gas imports via Gazprombank.
The U.S. on Thursday also granted a waiver to Hungary, which mainly relies on Russian oil and gas.
(Reporting by Can Sezer; Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Daren Butler, Kirsten Donovan)
