Putin allows rouble payments for gas not only via Gazprombank,
Putin's decree suspends payments via Gazprombank until April 1
Hungary says US issued exemption on payments to Gazprombank
Putin says gas transit via Ukraine unlikely to be extended
Adds Gazprombank's statement in paragraph 6, Hungary saying U.S. granted exemption on Gazprombank in paragraph 7, background
MOSCOW, Dec 19 (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin published a decree on Thursday allowing for foreign buyers of Russian gas to pay in roubles in other Russian banks, not only via the U.S.-sanctioned Gazprombank, until April 1, in an attempt to bypass the sanctions.
Russian energy supplies have been increasingly in focus, while Moscow's transit deal with Ukraine, through which around half of the Russian gas is supplied to Europe, expires on Dec. 31.
On Thursday, Putin said it was now clear there would be no new gas transit deal with Kyiv to send Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, but that Russia would cope with that.
Earlier this month, Putin cancelled the option for buyers of Russian gas to convert currency into roubles at Gazprombank, still not solving the payments issue, according to the European buyers of Russian gas.
It's still not clear whether the latest move will facilitate the payments.
"In accordance with the document, gas buyers can pay for gas in roubles to Gazprom's account in Russian banks until April 1, 2025," Gazprombank said in a statement.
Earlier on Thursday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a video posted to social media that the United States granted an exemption for gas payments from sanctions it had imposed on Russia's Gazprombank.
The U.S. Treasury Department could not be immediately reached for comment.
Slovakia, Austria and Hungary will be most affected by the expected stoppage of Russian gas exports via Ukraine, while Hungary still receives Russian gas from the south, via the TurkStream pipeline on the bed of the Black Sea.
Moldova's separatist pro-Russian Transdniestria region will also stop getting gas from the east. Russian gas is critical for Transdniestria's residents and to supply a thermal plant that provides most of the electricity for government-controlled areas of Moldova.
Writing by Lucy Papachristou and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alex Richardson and Jonathan Oatis
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