Turkey to Be Exempt from Gazprombank Sanctions

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, announced that Turkey will continue to make natural gas debt payments through Gazprombank. Bayraktar noted that the U.S. has granted exemptions for payments made to Turkey via this bank. In statements to Bloomberg, Bayraktar indicated that Turkey would not face issues in paying its natural gas debts to Russia through Gazprombank.

Regarding Gazprombank sanctions and Turkey's situation, although Gazprombank has been placed on the U.S. sanctions list, according to Minister Bayraktar, Turkey will be exempted from this due to its natural gas agreements with Russia. The U.S. Department of the Treasury had imposed sanctions on various Russian financial institutions, including Gazprombank, to prevent Russia from financing its war in Ukraine.

On the global sanctions situation and Gazprombank's response, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced last month that some countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, had imposed sanctions on Gazprombank. The bank stated that it would not experience any disruptions in its operations despite U.S. sanctions. Gazprombank indicated that it would maintain its role in the international financial system without issues in ruble and foreign currency transactions, asserting that all of its cards would continue to be used throughout Russia.

Regarding U.S. financial sanctions, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen emphasized that the new sanctions aim to weaken Russia's military and war economy. Yellen stated that they would take decisive steps against all financial channels to prevent the Kremlin from circumventing U.S. sanctions. In addition to Gazprombank and over 50 other Russian banks, more than 40 Russian securities firms and 15 Russian financial officials have also been added to the sanctions list.