Turkey under surveillance for avoiding sanctions against Russia

2024-01-17 18:34:12, Kosova & Bota CNA

Washington is stepping up efforts to tighten sanctions on Russia with a second package of punitive measures aimed at stopping Turkey from helping Moscow and its trading partners evade sanctions imposed over its attack on Ukraine.

As Voice of America correspondent Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, analysts say that the success of the sanctions, or their failure, will depend on the fact to what extent countries are willing to lose due to the restriction of connections. trade with Russia.

The ship Grande Italia is a regular visitor to Turkish ports, unloading Italian vehicles there. As with other European countries, trade relations between Italy and Turkey have strengthened since the start of the war in Ukraine, which also coincides with an increase in trade between Russia and Turkey.

Turkey has been used as a country to circumvent the sanctions, as Ankara says it is not affected by the restrictions.

"Turkey, still an important importer of Russian gas and an important destination for crude oil and fuels, is a gateway for many financial transactions, supplies of equipment and everything else for Russia," says Tatiana Mitrova, trade expert.

Since the imposition of sanctions against Moscow, many of Russia's neighbors have also recorded increases in bilateral trade with European countries.

"It is about the national interest. Countries that can themselves buy fuel from Russia criticize others for facilitating this trade and continue to accuse Turkey of evading sanctions. So I can understand that this is reality and it happens. In this case, the issue is whether these countries, Europe and the United States, would be willing to tighten the sanctions", says Mustafa Aydin, from the Council of International Relations in Turkey.

Last month, United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order imposing a second set of sanctions targeting financial institutions that do business with Russia.

The measures could hurt Turkey's struggling economy.

Ankara says the sanctions are failing.

"Russia is taking advantage of this situation. Why? Russia is supplying oil and gas to India, China, and even many European allies", says Mesut Casin, Advisor to the President of Turkey.

Turkish authorities believe that by not becoming part of the sanctions, their country can play a mediating role between Russia and Ukraine. But analysts say Ankara is hoping its Western allies will put their economic interests first and vote against further sanctions.

"If they do this, they will not only harm Turkey or other countries, but they will harm themselves and their economies, so they are avoiding such a thing," adds Mr. Aydin.

For now, there are no signs of slowing down in Turkey's busy ports and sea lanes, as trade between Europe and Turkey, and Turkey and Russia, continues to flourish, despite international efforts to tighten the economic noose on Moscow./ VOA