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Turkey brings Raiffeisen Bank into play to pay for the gas it receives from Russia...
Turkey has brought in Raiffeisen Bank to continue payments for natural gas imports from Russia, after the exemption from US sanctions has expired.
Last year, the US imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, a key financial institution through which countries like Turkey and Hungary made payments for Russian energy.
In 2024, Turkey imported 45 percent of its natural gas from Moscow, potentially paying over $8 billion for these imports.
In December, the Biden administration temporarily exempted Turkey and several other countries from sanctions on Gazprombank, allowing them to establish alternative payment channels.
The Trump administration extended this exemption for another two months in March, following a phone call between Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. But the exemption expired on May 20.
Now, Turkey will make payments for the gas through Raiffeisen Bank, which operates in Russia and is not subject to any sanctions, a senior Turkish official told Middle East Eye on Friday.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Russia on May 26-27 at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources announced on Saturday.
The Austrian bank is the only Western bank operating in Russia, despite pressure to leave. International media have written several times that it is used by Russians and not only, to avoid Western sanctions. The US has threatened it several times with measures if it does not stop its activity in Russia.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Raiffeisen's Russian unit has become the most profitable subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International. In the first three quarters of 2024, Raiffeisen's Russian unit generated over $1 billion in profit. But it seems that profits will increase with the entry of Turkey into the game. Although accused of financing the war machine, the Austrian bank has no intention of leaving Russia. / Pamphlet
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