EU warns Turkey about breaking sanctions against Russia

A key EU commissioner on Thursday visited Turkey to warn the government and Turkish companies which have been increasingly collaborating with Russian businesses against the risks of being covered by the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia, just one day after the eighth package of sanctions was announced by the bloc.

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 Trade Minister Mehmet Mus, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu.

The commission member later in the evening held a meeting with the leading associations and institutions of the business world at a dinner.

The significance of McGuinness’s visit to Ankara was augmented by the fact that the visit took place right after the EU accepted the eighth sanctions package against Russia. The EU’s new sanctions package, which has been widely discussed due to Russia’s cap on oil sales, includes import and export restrictions as well as deterring individuals and organizations that circumvent the sanctions by fraudulent means.

“Commissioner McGuinness is visiting Turkey to discuss sanctions policies and further cooperation opportunities and to meet with members of the government,” a statement by the EU delegation in Turkey said. 

The EU commissioner said on Twitter that her visit was “an opportunity to convey our strong focus on the implementation of our sanctions against Russia & the need to detect & root out circumvention & evasion.”

Turkey announced right in the beginning of the war on Ukraine that it would not comply with the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US, the EU and other Western partners and it would only respect the sanctions taken by the United Nations Security Council.