Turkey says will not allow 'breaching' of US sanctions on Russia amid war in Ukraine

While US continues to impose sanctions on Russia for its 'unjustified' invasion of Ukraine, Turkey asserted that it would t permit "breaching" of American sanctions on Moscow, however, its "balanced" position on war in Kyiv "will t alter". This was told by Deputy Finance Minister of Turkey, Yunus Elitas to Wally eyemo, Deputy Secretary of US Treasury. se remarks by Elitas come weeks after a Financial Times report stated that Western authorities are "alarmed" by Ankara's increasing commercial connections with Russia and are considering means to respond if se ties would help Russia eve sanctions by European Union and United States, RT reported.  

During telephonic conversation on Friday with Turkish Deputy Finance Minister, eyemo expressed concern that Russian organisations and individuals may be trying to use Turkey to avoid sanctions imposed by US and 30 or countries. According to a reout of call from US Treasury Department on Friday, “He reiterated United States’ interest in success of Turkish ecomy and expressed Treasury’s commitment to its partnership with Government of Türkiye to protect integrity of its banking sector.”   

Furrmore, eyemo spoke with Yunus Elitas on ongoing initiatives to put into effect and enforce extensive multilateral sanctions placed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. 

Turkey acts as a "mediator" between Russia and Ukraine amid war

Meanwhile, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, has repeatedly referred to his position on crisis in Ukraine as "balanced." According to RT report, Turkey is only rth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member that has neir imposed penalties on Moscow r blocked Russian planes from using its air. However, amid  ongoing conflict, Erdogan has established himself as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. In March, Turkey held  discussions on peace that were eventually unsuccessful but subsequently assisted in negotiating a deal to restore grain supplies across Black Sea to international markets. 

On August 18, Turkey and Ukraine signed a pact for restoration of Ukrainian infrastructure that h been destroyed by continuing Russian military action. Following a trilateral meeting in Lviv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Erdogan, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, agreement was signed. After a three-way discussion between leers, Mehmet Mus, Turkish minister of tre, and Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukrainian minister of infrastructure, signed deal. 

Earlier this month, after Erdogan and Russian President Vlimir Putin's meeting, Ankara and Moscow decided to increase ir bilateral tre to $100 billion by year 2030 and collaborate on energy projects and counterterrorism initiatives. While Turkey continues to import Russian oil and gas, Erdogan and Putin decided that Turkey will use rubles to pay for part of its Russian gas purchases, RT reported.  

(Im: AP)