The United States has extended Turkey’s exemption from sanctions on Gazprombank until May, allowing Ankara to continue payments for Russian gas supplies, Bloomberg reported, citing Turkish officials.
The waiver, initially set to expire on March 20, was granted after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Gazprombank in November 2024. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek planned to request an extension from his US counterpart, Scott Bessent, during a phone call on March 18.
On December 20, 2024, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced that Washington had granted Turkey a special exemption for transactions through Gazprombank, which handles payments from foreign buyers of Russian gas.
Hungary also secured a temporary exemption on December 20, 2024, allowing continued payments through Gazprombank for three months, until March 20. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Budapest had already arranged an alternative payment method with Moscow. However, there has been no official confirmation on whether Hungary’s exemption has been extended.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó previously noted that Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and Turkey had held consultations and developed an alternative payment system that complies with sanctions while ensuring continued payments for Russian energy supplies.
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Based on materials from TASS