US exempting gas payments from Russia Gazprombank sanctions, Hungary says
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BUDAPEST, Dec 19 (Reuters) -The United States granted an exemption for gas payments on Thursday from sanctions it had imposed on Russia's Gazprombank, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a video posted to social media.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Gazprombank on Nov. 21, creating an obstacle for European buyers of Russian gas. Buyers had been using Gazprombank to make payments.
Hungary, which mainly relies on Russian oil and gas, asked the U.S. for an exemption.
The U.S. sanctions on Gazprombank have caused difficulties for several importers, who also include Turkey and Slovakia, and these countries have been looking for clarification and options to make payments.
"Today they have given an exemption for gas payments relating to Gazprombank, which is good news, but in the meantime we have worked out a solution with our regional allies, an alternative mode of payment, which does not violate sanctions but allows payments (for gas)," Szijjarto told a reporter in New York, in the video.
The U.S. Treasury Department could not be immediately reached for comment.
Slovakia's main gas buyer, state-owned SPP, said it had not received notification of a gas-payment exemption.
Szijjarto said the U.S. continued to ban financial transactions via Gazprombank relating to the Paks 2 nuclear plant that Russia's Rosatom is building in Hungary, calling it an "entirely political decision".
He said Hungary's energy supply was secure, but did not give further details on the gas payments.
Szijjarto had said on Friday the gas-payment issue had been resolved as the affected countries had worked out an alternative mode of payment. He did not say how that would work, and the Hungarian Foreign Ministry has not replied to emailed Reuters questions.
Reporting by Krisztina Than; additional reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by Rod Nickel
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