Turkey in talks for US sanctions waiver to pay for Russian gas
The United States introduced Ukraine war-related sanctions last week against 118 individuals and entities tied to Russia’s financial sector, including Gazprombank, the country’s largest lender yet to be designated by Washington.
Turkey is in talks with the United States to obtain a sanctions waiver that would allow Ankara to keep using Russia’s Gazprombank to pay for natural gas imports, as the Turkish energy minister warned that no exemption would jeopardize his country’s energy security.
Sanctions were introduced by the United States last week against 118 individuals and entities tied to Russia’s financial sector, including Gazprombank, the country’s largest lender yet to be designated by Washington. The United States has implemented a series of sanctions in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Biden administration said last week that the latest sanctions would serve to curtail Russia's ability to use the international financial system to conduct war in Ukraine and put an end to Russia's attempts to make cross-border payments for military material and dual-use goods.
Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters Monday evening ahead of a cabinet meeting in Ankara that Turkey’s Foreign Ministry was in negotiations for the sanctions waiver.
He noted that without the exemption, Turkey can’t pay Russia and won’t be able to buy its gas.
“If there is no exemption, it may amount to something very big for Turkey,” the minister said, adding that there had previously been US waivers on Iran-related sanctions and that if there was no exception made in this case, it could jeopardize Turkish energy security.
Bayraktar questioned the timing of the sanctions, considering US President Joe Biden will be stepping down as president in January 2025.
“We don't understand the Biden administration's timing,” the Turkish minister said. “The problem is that lifting these sanctions is not something that can be done overnight."
Russia is Turkey’s biggest gas supplier, providing it with around 42% of the fuel. Even though Bayraktar’s company has provided Ukraine with drones to use against Russia in the war, Turkey has maintained cordial relations with both Moscow and Kyiv throughout the conflict, despite Western pressure to implement sanctions. Turkey has been one of the main mediators in trying to end the war.
Turkey has ambitions to turn the country into a gas hub, but is far off those ambitions and is still heavily reliant on Russian gas.
Bayraktar said Nov. 1 that his government was in talks with Russia to strike a deal on a gas trading hub in Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city.
The minister said that Turkey sent Russia a memorandum of understanding to work with Gazprom, the Russian energy company that is Kremlin-owned and that owns Gazprombank.
