HomeNewsPutin removes Gazprombank from payments for Russian gas exports

Putin removes Gazprombank from payments for Russian gas exports

12/5/2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled a requirement for all buyers of Russian gas to pay through Gazprombank, a presidential decree showed on Thursday, after the United States targeted the state-controlled lender with sanctions.

The U.S. sanctions on Gazprombank, imposed last month, prevent the lender from handling any new energy-related transactions, potentially blocking how European customers can pay for Russian gas.

Putin issued the initial decree in March 2022, forcing the buyers of Russian gas to pay for deliveries via Gazprombank through a scheme involving payments in roubles.

It was not entirely clear how the payments would be made after the amendments to the decree were published on Thursday. Russian authorities have said they have been working on ways to resolve the issue.

The updated decree says payments for Russian gas via the K-type rouble and foreign currency accounts will not be conducted until the sanctions against Gazprombank are lifted and could be resumed by a decision of the Russian president.

Russia shipped about 15 Bm3 of gas via Ukraine in 2023 - only 8% of the peak Russian gas flows to Europe through various routes in 2018–2019.

However, some countries such as Turkey and Hungary still buy gas in large volumes from Russia.

Hungary has asked the United States to exempt Gazprombank from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas, saying those sanctions could negatively affect some U.S. allies.

According to the sanctions, the companies should unwind their transactions with the bank by Dec. 20.

 

Related News

Comments

{{ error }}
{{ comment.comment.Name }} • {{ comment.timeAgo }}
{{ comment.comment.Text }}