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Turkey starts paying in rubles for Russian gas

Turkey has started paying in rubles for Russian gas, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez announced on Tuesday.

In an interview for the broadcaster TRT Haber, Donmez said that in the coming months the share of payments in local currency in the energy trade with Russia will increase.

Russia, hit by Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, is increasingly asking buyers of its energy to pay in rubles to help shore up its currency.

Most international energy deals are settled in US dollars or euros.

Turkey is also trying to boost trade using the lira, which has been hit by unorthodox monetary policies.

Ankara and Moscow agreed in September to start paying in rubles for natural gas supplies.