EU allows Russia to make payments for oil transit

Previously blocked transfers caused a temporary halt to crude supplies to Europe

Brussels has given the greenlight to an authorized bank to make direct payments for oil transit to Europe via Ukraine, according to Russian pipeline crude transport company Transneft.

“The regulator in Brussels, after the situation with the failure to pass payments, informed our bank, through which we make mandatory transportation payments, that they give us permission to make all payments until the end of the year,” Transneft spokesman and presidential adviser Igor Demin told Prime news outlet on Tuesday.

In August, Ukraine’s UkrTransNafta stopped the transit of Russian oil to Europe through the Druzhba pipeline due to Russia’s inability to pay transit fees as a result of sanctions.

Transneft said that it tried to send the payment on July 22, but six days later, the funds were returned to the company’s account, as the European correspondent bank refused to carry out the operation, citing sanctions. As a result, the fuel recipients, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, were forced to pay for the transit on their own.

Russian pipeline oil is not subject to EU sanctions, unlike crude delivered by sea.

Find more stories on economy and finance in TROIB business