Türkiye secures US exemption on Gazprombank sanctions for gas payments

Türkiye has received an exemption from the United States regarding sanctions on Russia’s Gazprombank JSC, enabling Ankara to continue using the bank to make payments for its gas imports.

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed this on December 18 in a conversation with Bloomberg, per Caliber.Az.

He stated that after several rounds of talks with US officials, Türkiye had been granted the ability to make gas payments via Gazprombank despite the sanctions imposed last month.

The sanctions on Gazprombank, a crucial financial institution used for processing natural gas payments, have caused significant concerns among many countries, including those within the European Union, as it disrupted payment flows for nations that rely on the Russian bank. Hungary also announced on December 19 that it had received a similar exemption from these US sanctions.

Bayraktar had previously warned that Türkiye would need a waiver to avoid facing penalties, as the sanctions could hinder its ability to pay for Russian gas. The US Treasury, however, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the specific exemption granted to Türkiye.

In November, Turkish officials met with a Russian delegation to discuss potential alternative payment methods to avoid the sanctions, with the aim of finding solutions to continue the gas trade without violating the US restrictions.

The sanctions imposed by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on November 21 targeted a broad range of Russian financial entities, including Gazprombank, and restricted over 50 banks under the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. This includes prominent Russian banks such as Gazprombank and Dom.RF Bank, alongside new sanctions on registrars and depositories that manage securities. Additionally, 11 senior Russian Central Bank officials, including First Deputy Chairmen Vladimir Chistyukhin and Dmitry Tulin, as well as Deputy Chairwoman Olga Polyakova, were personally sanctioned.

These actions represent a significant escalation of sanctions against Russia’s financial sector, marking a sharp increase from previous sanctions imposed on the Central Bank's leadership in 2022. While large credit institutions in Russia have largely avoided sanctions since mid-2023, in June 2024, sanctions on the Mosbirzhi Group disrupted trading in US dollars and euros, further damaging Russia's financial infrastructure.

By Tamilla Hasanova