Ankara assures Washington no sanctions on Russia will be violated
ANKARA
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Türkiye will not allow any person or institution to violate sanctions imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, a senior Turkish official told his United States counterpart on a phone conversation.
According to a written statement by the Treasury, Deputy Treasury and Finance Minister Yunus Elitaş spoke on the phone with U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo on the implementation of sanctions against Russia.
It said the two officials discussed the steps to strengthen the cooperation between Türkiye and the U.S., as well as the latest developments in the global economy due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Elitaş underlined the fact that Türkiye has deep economic and political ties with both Ukraine and Russia, saying Ankara’s stance on the sanctions has not changed, meaning it won’t join unilateral sanctions. But he also assured his counterpart that the government would not allow any person or institution to violate sanctions on Russia.
Elitaş also emphasized that it was Türkiye, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that has been exerting most efforts for ending the war and for regional peace and stability.
The U.S. official, for his part, told that Russian entities and individuals were attempting to use Türkiye to bypass Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the Treasury Department said.
The two also discussed ongoing efforts to implement and enforce sanctions against Russia, it said.
Adeyemo paid a visit to Türkiye in June to ask for Ankara’s support to enforce and implement the sanctions. The government said it won’t impose sanctions unless they are decided by the U.N. Security Council.
Türkiye and Russia have recently improved bilateral economic, trade and energy relations. The trade volume between the two increased after the war broke out in February. Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin recently agreed to expand these ties and trade with national currencies.
