Senior US Treasury official visits Turkey to issue warning regarding compliance with sanctions on Russia

A senior U.S. Treasury Department official visited Turkey this week to discuss sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia due to war on Ukraine, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday, as Western countries increase pressure on Turkey because of its economic ties with Moscow.

Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg traveled to Ankara and Istanbul from Monday through Wednesday, where she met with officials from the ministries of finance and foreign affairs as well as representatives in the private financial and commercial sectors, according to a statement by the Treasury Department.

The Treasury said the meetings "affirmed the importance of close partnership" between the United States and Turkey in addressing the risks caused by sanctions evasion.

"During her meetings, Assistant Secretary Rosenberg covered a range of topics, including the sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia by a broad coalition of over 30 countries, energy security, anti-money laundering policy, and countering the financing of terrorism," the Treasury said.

Earlier in October, A key EU commissioner also visited Turkey to warn the government and Turkish companies against the risks of being covered by the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia.

Mairead McGuinness, Member of the European Commission in Charge of Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, gave information about the new sanctions in her meetings with the Turkish ministers who steer Turkey’s economy. 

Ankara opposes Western sanctions on Russia and ramped up trade and tourism with its northern neighbor. But Ankara also pledged that the sanctions will not be circumvented in Turkey. 

Some Turkish firms have purchased or sought to buy Russian assets from Western partners pulling back due to the sanctions, while others maintain large assets in the country.