Turkey Delays $600 Million Gas Payment to Russia Until 2024: Report

Turkey has postponed payment to Russia on a gas bill in the amount of 600 million dollars until 2024, Reuters reported, citing its sources, BTA informed.

The agency noted that this was the first such delay under an agreement announced last week that signaled deepening ties between Ankara and Moscow.

Under the deal, Turkish energy payments to Russia of up to $4 billion could be delayed until next year, the sources told Reuters.

Turkey, which is gearing up for elections on Sunday, is heavily dependent on energy imports and Russia is its biggest supplier, the agency noted.

The gas payment deal eases pressure on Turkey’s foreign exchange reserves, which are being depleted by unconventional economic policies aimed at supporting the Turkish lira, as well as rising energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

“A $600 million payment has been officially postponed until next year. The increase in energy prices has had a huge effect on that,” said one of the sources familiar with the matter.

The source said that Turkey may postpone other such payments in the coming months depending on the energy price.

The energy ministries of Russia and Turkey and the two countries’ energy companies, Gazprom and Botash, did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said last week that Turkey and Moscow had agreed a deal allowing Ankara to defer energy payments up to a certain amount, but gave no further details.

Polls show President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could lose Sunday’s election largely because of the high-cost-of-living crisis and the devaluation of the lira, caused mainly by his government’s program to cut interest rates despite inflation.

Turkey’s energy import bill reached a record close to $100 billion last year, with the country importing 39 percent of a total of 53.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in the 12 months to February.