Western Sanctions Delay Payments for Russia’s Oil Exports

Russia is seeing months of delays in payments for its oil exports as banks in its major trader partners, including China, the UAE, and Turkey, are now scrutinizing transactions wary of the tighter U.S. sanctions, numerous unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters. Russian oil firms are struggling to collect the payments for their exports on time, which in turn delays payments to the Russian budget for use in the war in Ukraine. Even as China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates have continued to buy Russian crude and…