Turkey receives gas payment exemption: A bright spot amidst sanctions

Turkey has successfully secured an exemption for gas payments to Russia after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Gazprombank. This pleasing news was announced by Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, which is remarkable given the current geopolitical tensions. In November, the U.S. introduced new sanctions against Gazprombank, making it difficult for buyers of Russian gas to pay through the bank. Many countries, including Turkey, were forced to seek alternative payment methods. This was not an easy task, given that more than half of Ankara's natural gas imports come through Russian pipelines. Last year, Turkey received 21.1 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas from Russia. Given these numbers, the Turkish government was eager to secure an exemption in negotiations with American officials to continue processing payments for Russian gas imports through Gazprombank. Interestingly, Hungary also received a similar exemption on Thursday, providing relief to this country, which heavily relies on Russian oil and gas.