ISTANBUL, May 3 (Reuters) - Turkey has agreed with
Russia's Gazprom on deferring payment for part of the
natural gas it imported after a surge in prices last year,
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said late on Tuesday.
Turkey's current account deficit soared last year, driven by
an increase in energy import costs to $97 billion, nearly double
the average of recent years. Energy prices have since eased as
markets have adjusted to the disruption caused by Russia's
invasion of Ukraine.
"There were negotiations, an agreement was reached with
Russia, with the Gazprom company to defer the payments above a
certain level after the prices rose extraordinarily last year in
a way that no-one could foresee," Donmez told broadcaster Haber
Global in an interview.
Gazprom did not respond to a request for comment.
Donmez did not specify when the deal was made but said it
was conducted in coordination with the Treasury and Finance
Ministry and that such deals were usual.
He said in January that negotiations, including on delaying
payments, were ongoing. He did not provide a figure for the
deferred payment but said it was done to help the current
account balance.
Turkey's current account deficit surged to $48.75 billion in
2022 from $7.23 billion in 2021 and $31.89 billion in 2020, data
from the central bank showed.
Turkey has aimed to flip its chronic current account
deficits to a surplus under its economic programme that
prioritises investments and exports while keeping interest rates
low.
The cost of energy imports began to decline as of January
and was down 19% year-on-year in the first four months of 2023,
government data showed.
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WRAPUP 3-EU countries agree gas price cap to contain energy
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(Reporting by Can Sezer and Ali Kucukgocmen; additional
reporting by Oksana Kobzeva in Moscow; editing by Barbara Lewis)
+905319306206; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging:
ali.kucukgocmen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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