US warns Turkey about “consequences“unless it restricts exports of military equipment to Russia that is linked to American technology and is critical to Moscow's war machine, the Financial Times reported.
In particular, Matthew Axelrod, the assistant secretary of commerce who leads U.S. efforts to prevent sensitive technology from falling into the hands of America’s adversaries, recently met with Turkish officials in Ankara and Istanbul as part of efforts to stop the illicit trade. His message, according to a senior trade official, was that Turkey must do more to stop the trade in U.S.-origin chips and other components vital to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
“We need Türkiye to help us stop the illegal flow of American technology to Russia“,” Axelrod told the FT. We must see progress, and quickly, from the Turkish government and industry, or we will have no choice but to impose sanctions on those who circumvent our export controls.“.
According to the publication, Washington's warning is the latest evidence of how Turkey's decision to maintain close trade ties with Russia is clouding relations between the two NATO allies.
USA, EU and other Western partners imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia after it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Turkey has shrugged off the restrictions and increased trade with the country since the war began. The U.S. is particularly concerned that Turkey has become a key hub for Western-made electronics, including processors, memory cards, and amplifiers, to be installed in Russian missiles and drones in violation of export controls.
U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Economic Intelligence Brian Nelson expressed dissatisfaction with the trade in military goods from Turkey during a visit to the country late last year.
The US, EU, UK and Japan have joined forces to target trade in about 50 categories of civilian military goods that the allies say are a priority because of Russia's war in Ukraine. Turkey is the world's second-largest source of high-priority U.S.-origin goods shipped to Russia after China, a Commerce Ministry official said.
Axelrod informed the Turkish government that this trade was “urgent problem” and called on Ankara “to adopt and enforce the ban on the transshipment of controlled goods from the United States to Russia.” He added that Moscow “tries to exploit Turkey's trade policy” to gain access to American components.
The Ministry of Trade has already included 18 Turkish companies in the “list of subjects” related to this trade. This requires U.S. companies to obtain licenses, which are rarely granted, to sell sensitive parts in these categories. According to a trade official, “we can expect that the situation will change in the future if there is no progress“.
The Treasury Department has imposed separate sanctions on several Turkish companies for allegedly supplying products to Russia's military-industrial complex. Turkey's Commerce Ministry declined to comment on the U.S. allegations.
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