Turkish Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has dismissed United States (US) warnings of imposing sanctions if Turkey continues to maintain commercial ties with Russia. Last week, the US Treasury sent a letter to Turkish business leaders and associations that Washington would punish Turkish companies for doing business with Russia.
Nebati said the letter is “meaningless” and should not be a cause for concern among businesses. “Turkey is one of the most important political and economic power centres in the world. Our business world should always feel the power of the state with it,” he emphasised.
He noted that while Turkey supports allies to strengthen cooperation against global and regional challenges, his country is “determined to develop commercial and economic relations with our neighbours in various sectors, especially in tourism, within a framework that is not subject to sanctions.”
NATO's second largest military Turkey is the middleman between EU sellers of sanctioned goods & Russian buyers of sanctioned goods. Turkey is ignoring RU sanctions, and no one in NATOland can or will do a thing about it. https://t.co/J2SFxMRsVj
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 26, 2022
Saying that the government is committed to maintaining a free market ecosystem, Nebati indicated that Turkey maintains commercial ties with Russia keeping this principle in mind. “The Turkish business world has achieved and will continue to achieve great success with its business ethics, ability and flexibility to produce fast solutions,” he remarked.
Nebati’s remarks came just days after Turkey’s largest business association, TÜSİAD, received a letter from US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warning that Turkish companies risked being sanctioned over ties with Russian companies.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which accessed the letter, Adeyemo urged Turkish companies against maintaining ties and providing material support to Turkish companies. The WSJ said the letter is an “escalation of US efforts to get Turkish institutions to comply with the international sanctions imposed on Russia.”
U.S. warns #Turkey's businesses and banks against working with sanctioned Russians and Russian banks
— Prof. Michael Tanchum (@michaeltanchum) August 23, 2022
Turkish construction industry's #1 customer is #Russia
➡️ Warning from Washngton to Ankara, but what does Biden administration really expect 🇹🇷 to do?https://t.co/o5Rhcha0Eb
Moreover, the written warning follows several attempts by the US to urge Turkey to halt business ties with Russia. On August 19, Adeyemo held a phone conversation with Turkish Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitaş about Turkey complying with Western sanctions on Ukraine. Adeyemo warned that Russian companies and individuals are trying to use Turkey to evade sanctions. Adeyemo also visited Turkey in June to enlist Ankara’s help in joining the West in sanctioning Russia.
However, despite being a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member, Turkey has refused to impose sanctions on Russia. Turkish authorities have insisted that sanctions are counterproductive and that dialogue is the only way to end the war in Ukraine. In fact, Turkey has hosted several meetings between Russian and Ukrainian officials since the war began in February. It also played a crucial role in mediating a deal between Russia and Ukraine that allows the export of millions of tonnes of grain stuck at Ukrainian ports.
Also Read: Returning ‘Inseparable’ Crimea to Ukraine Required by International Law: Erdoğan
Turkey has also been trying to establish greater economic ties with Russia, despite other NATO allies imposing sanctions against Moscow. It more than doubled its oil imports from Russia to 200,000 bpd this year compared to just 98,000 bpd in 2021.
Furthermore, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan travelled to Sochi earlier this month to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. During the meeting, Erdoğan agreed to pay for part of its Russian gas imports in rubles and extend the use of Russia’s Mir payment system. The Turkish leader also said there would be no restrictions on Russian nuclear agency Rosatom’s construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.