Turkey has agreed to halt the transit of sanctioned western goods to Russia after facing pressure from the G7, according to a senior US official.
James O’Brien, head of the US State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, said that Turkish officials have been clear that they have introduced a ban on the re-export of sanctioned goods to Russia, but Washington has yet to see the impact of the change.
“We are pleased to see that Turkey has taken action to stop the transit of sanctioned western goods to Russia. This is a positive step towards enforcing the sanctions that have been put in place to address Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine,” said James O’Brien, but added:
“It will take us some time to see it, but we will see trade data from March and April and we will expect to see this trade dropping dramatically. It’s the numbers. That’s all I care about.”
The United States and its allies imposed extensive sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine, but supply channels have remained open from Turkey and other trading hubs.
The Turkish government has provided companies with a list of banned foreign goods and instructed them not to transship those to Russia since 1 March, but it will take some time for the impact of the policy to become apparent.
Several senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, have traveled to Turkey since the invasion and have issued warnings to Turkish businesses and banks to enforce U.S. curbs on Russia.
Source: Gerçek News
