Turkey is seeking a U.S. sanctions waiver to continue using a now-sanctioned Russian bank for paying for its energy imports from Russia, while also talking with Russian officials about the future of energy trade and payments.
Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Gazprombank in what the Treasury said was “another major step in implementing commitments made by G7 leaders to curtail Russia’s use of the international financial system to further its war against Ukraine.”
The latest sanction measures include the designation of Gazprombank, more than 50 internationally connected Russian banks, more than 40 Russian securities registrars, and 15 Russian finance officials.
Before November 21, the U.S. Treasury had refrained from imposing sanctions on Gazprombank, which has been used by Russia’s European customers to pay for the natural gas they still receive from Russia.
Turkey is using Gazprombank and it is also importing more than half of its natural gas purchases from Russia. Overall, Turkey currently imports nearly all the natural gas it consumes, and most of it comes from Russia.
That’s why Turkish officials have been busy discussing the implications of the sanctions on Gazprombank on it energy security.
“These sanctions will affect Turkey. We cannot pay, if we cannot pay we cannot buy the goods. The foreign ministry is in talks,” Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, as carried by Reuters.
Turkey would need a waiver similar to the one the U.S. has granted the country for Iranian energy imports, according to Bayraktar. Now Turkey needs a waiver to ensure its energy supply, the minister said.
In addition, Turkey is also talking with Russia to discuss the implications of the latest U.S. sanctions on the Turkish-Russian energy trade.
“We discussed with the Russian delegation what can be done to prevent Turkey from being subject to sanctions during this process and what the effects of this will be,” an anonymous Turkish official told Reuters, referring to private talks.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
