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Turkish private sector that we expect compliance with the sanctions against Russia: US State Department

15 December 2022 23:00 (UTC +04:00)

"Turkish private sector that we expect compliance with the sanctions against Russia," Ambassador Jim O'Brien, Head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the U.S. Department of State said at an online briefing organized for foreign journalists, APA reports.

According to him, Turkiye plays a very important role in many ways in this is conflict: "I mean, for example, the drones that it is helping Ukraine to make have been very important on the battlefield. As well, Turkey is the sort of sponsor and mediator of the UN Black Sea Grain Initiative. Obviously, any exports through the Black Sea need to work their way through the Bosphorus, so Turkey’s role has been very important on both the humanitarian and the military side of this conflict."

"We have been extremely clear with both the Turkish Government and with Turkish private sector that we expect compliance with the sanctions. We have seen the Turkish private sector be very clear on this and largely in compliance. What I anticipate over the next months are a couple of things. One, we’ll continue to engage closely with the Turkish authorities and with the private sector so that we see compliance, and when there’s a lack of compliance there will be some action taken. Sometimes that action is additional sanctions for material support of sanctions evasion; sometimes it’s other steps that stop the offending behavior. The – and we’ll keep working in that way," he said.

"I think there have been – there were some submitted questions and there’s general discussion about how Turkey will react to the price cap on oil. What we anticipate is that China, India, and Turkey, as major buyers of Russian oil, will negotiate very good prices for themselves and be – the volume sold to them will come in under the price cap, so it would be in compliance even if the countries do not join formally the price cap coalition. And that’s an example of the kind of way we see this moving forward.

And certainly, as our sanctions evolve and we begin to anticipate or adjust to the way Russia attempts to gather more resources for this war, that will mean that we’ll continue consultations with Turkey, and it may have to modify some of its plans for continued engagement with Russia," he said.