Hungary asks for an exemption from US sanctions on gas payments to Gazprombank

Hungary's Foreign Minister said that the United States should exempt Russia's Gazprombank when it comes payments for natural gases, as these sanctions could adversely affect some U.S. Allies.

On Nov. 21, President Joe Biden stepped up measures to punish Moscow before he leaves his office in January.

The sanctions prohibit the state-controlled bank from handling new transactions involving energy that are part of the U.S. Financial System.

In a Facebook broadcast, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said: "We filed our request yesterday with the American authorities asking for Gazprombank to be granted an exemption from sanctions in relation to payments for gas."

Szijjarto cited Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary for State, as having said that he would "be willing to consult with any allies who had problems due to sanctions".

Hungary imports two-thirds its gas from Russia. However, pressure is increasing for some of the neighbouring countries to move away from Russian energy more quickly, in light of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine 2022.

A 15-year agreement signed in 2021 has seen Hungary receive 4.5 billion cubic meters (bcms) of Russian gas each year.

Szijjarto stated that any exemptions would be similar in nature to those granted to Russian banks who process payments for Russian Uranium purchased by the United States.

The Minister said that he will travel to Washington, DC later on Wednesday. He did not specify the topic of his discussions there.

Szijjarto traveled to Moscow on Monday to meet with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. He said that Hungary is working on a way to pay for Russian Gas after Gazprombank has been placed on the U.S. sanction list. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones. Anita Komuves)

(source: Reuters)