US extended Slovakia's exemption from Gazprombank sanctions until May

The United States extended Slovakia's exemption from sanctions imposed last November on Russian company Gazprombank. The bank receives gas payments from European customers of state-owned gas company Gazprom. The exemption, which Bratislava secured last December, will now remain in force until May this year. Reuters reported the news, citing an informed source.

At the turn of the year, the administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden imposed further sanctions on Russia's energy sector, which Washington says provides Moscow's largest source of funding for its aggression against Ukraine. In early January this year, the sanctions affected the so-called shadow fleet of tankers carrying Russian oil, as well as Russian oil companies. Gazprombank itself had already been hit by sanctions in October last year.

Until then, Gazprombank had been one of the last Russian financial institutions not subject to sanctions. This allowed European customers to continue paying for Russian gas. Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia were granted temporary exemptions from the sanctions.

Gazprombank is one of Russia's largest banks and is partly owned by gas company Gazprom, which is controlled by the Kremlin. Gazprom has a monopoly on pipeline gas exports from Russia.