BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary has asked the United States to exempt Russia’s Gazprombank from sanctions when it comes to payments because the sanctions could have negative consequences for some U.S. allies, Hungary’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia’s Gazprombank on November 21, as President Joe Biden steps up measures to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine before he leaves office in January.
The sanctions prevent the state-controlled lender from handling new energy-related transactions involving the U.S. financial system.
“Yesterday we submitted our request to the relevant US authorities, calling for Gazprombank to be granted an exemption from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a briefing on his Facebook page ( NASDAQ:).
Szijjarto, speaking in Brussels after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, quoted US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken as saying he was “willing to consult with allies for whom sanctions were causing problems”.
Hungary receives about two-thirds of its gas imports from Russia, but pressure is mounting on the country and some of its neighbors to diversify faster away from Russian energy following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Hungary receives 4.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year from Russia under a 15-year contract signed in 2021.
Szijjarto said any exemption would be similar to those granted to other Russian banks that process payments for Russian uranium purchased by the United States.
The minister said he would travel to Washington later on Wednesday, but did not say what the focus of his talks there would be.
On Monday, Szijjarto traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and said Hungary is working on a solution to pay for Russian gas after Gazprombank was placed on the US sanctions list.
