In the West, they started talking about sanctions against Turkey

Deepening relations with Russia, which has launched a full-scale war in Ukraine, puts Turkey at risk of Western retaliation.

Writes about it Financial Times, referring to information received from six Western officials. They reported that EU and the United States are worried about the agreements in Sochi between the presidents of the two countries, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on expanding cooperation in the fields of energy and trade.

One of the sources of the Financial Times noted that Brussels is “more and more closely” following the Turkish-Russian relations. Another suggested that against this background, some countries may call on their companies to exit the Turkish market if the agreements reached between the leaders of Russia and Turkey begin to materialize.

Three more sources noted that the discussion of possible sanctions has not yet begun. However, only for the simple reason that the details of the agreements are still unknown. In addition, it will be quite difficult to make a decision at the EU level.

However, even without the formal consent of all EU members, individual states can, for example, “impose restrictions on trade and finance or ask large financial companies to reduce investments in Turkish companies.”

However, according to sources of the publication, such steps are contrary to the commercial interests of Western companies. And Turkey is still threatening to block Finnish and Swedish membership in NATO.

Edition of The Washington Post, the day before meetings in Sochisaid, citing Ukrainian intelligence, that Russia is asking Turkey for help to circumvent Western sanctions imposed in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Among the agreements reached by the Turkish and Russian presidents in Sochi is Ankara’s partial payment for Russian gas in rubles and the introduction of the Russian Mir payment system in five Turkish banks.

Source link