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US Treasury: Russia trying to bypass sanctions via Turkey

Saturday, 20 August 2022 10:53 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 20 August 2022 10:54 PM ]

The US Department of Treasury building is seen in Washington, DC, early on January 12, 2022. (Photo by AFP)

The US Treasury Department has said that Russian entities and individuals are attempting to use Turkey to bypass Western sanctions imposed over due to the conflict in Ukraine.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo asked Turkish Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas in a phone call on Saturday to implement and enforce the sanctions against Russia, the department said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Turkish finance ministry said Elitas had emphasized Turkey's deep economic and political relations with both Russia and Ukraine but also guaranteed the US official that Ankara would not allow any violation of the sanctions.

"Elitas confirmed that Turkey's position has not changed regarding the current processes and sanctions, but that it would not allow the breaching of sanctions by any institution or person," the ministry said in its own readout of the call.

Commenting on the conversation between US and Turkish officials, New York-based journalist Don DeBar said it is good that the US Treasury is becoming more and more irrelevant.

“What they are actually referring to is Turkey's pursuit of its own national interest by doing business with everyone rather than being circumscribed by Washington,” he said.

“This is, by the way, the prevailing model across the globe. Less than 1/3 of humanity is engaged in Washington's economic warfare against Russia. In terms of winners and losers in the Ukraine war, Washington has already lost in this sphere, and this is a major change in the geopolitical landscape,” he stated.

Russian forces launched a special operation in late February in the eastern Ukraine Donbas region to defend and liberate the pro-Russia “people who for eight years were suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.”

US bans all new investment in Russia, sanctions Putin’s children

Amid heightened tensions between the West and Russia over the latter’s military operation in Ukraine, the US on Wednesday rolled out fresh sanctions on Russian officials and entities.

In response to the Russian military operation, the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow which in turn led to food crises in other countries with lesser resources.

In this regard, the United Nation warned that the continued food disruption would hurt African and other developing states, creating an “unprecedented global hunger crisis.”

A recent Russia-Ukraine deal brokered by the UN and Turkey allowed a grain ship to leave Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa.

It was the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to leave Ukraine since Russia launched its military campaign in Donbas.

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US Treasury Department