The US has agreed to extend sanctions exemptions on Russian gas to Turkey, allowing it to continue importing Russian gas until May 2025, Bloomberg reported, citing information from a Turkish official.
The initial 3-month exemption for Turkey expired on March 20.
According to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the national energy regulatory agency, in 2024, more than 45% of Turkey's gas imports will come from Russia.
Russian gas supplies are important for Turkey in the context of a colder-than-normal winter. In the summer, Russian gas will still play a very important role as the country's hydropower output is expected to decrease.
Earlier this week, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and US Finance Minister Scott Bessent held a phone call "discussing sanctions as well as other economic and national security issues of concern to both sides," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
Last November, the US imposed sanctions on Russian bank Gazprombank - a key financial institution in energy payments - to limit revenue from Russian gas. However, major importers Turkey and Hungary have been exempted.
In addition to Turkey, Slovakia and Hungary have also been granted an extension of US sanctions exemptions, according to Daily Sabah.
Turkey and Hungary receive Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea.
Since Ukraine stopped transiting Russian gas through its territory in early 2025, Slovakia has relied on supplies from Hungary.
However, Slovakia's main gas importer SPP announced in February this year that Russia's Gazprom had resumed gas supplies via the TurkStream pipeline.
