American and European pressure on Turkey to avoid evading sanctions against Russia
According to IRNA, this English newspaper wrote on Thursday, quoting two western officials, that the US has focused on Turkish banks that joined the Russian national payment system called “MIR”.
According to the Financial Times, the pressure on Turkey comes as Western capitals move towards stricter enforcement of existing sanctions instead of new measures. This change confirms that the economic sanctions against Russia have not been able to damage the country’s economy as much as the western countries had hoped.
“You will see that we are kind of focusing on bypassing the financial sector,” said one of the knowledgeable western sources. We will send a clear message that, for example, third-country financial institutions should not connect with the Mir payment network, as this entails the risks of sanctions evasion.
Another Western source, who was present at this month’s negotiations between the US and the European Union regarding the implementation of sanctions, said: We need to close the loopholes and Turkey is the main target.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country has been a member of NATO since 1952, has followed a balanced approach to the Ukraine war. His refusal to sign sanctions against Russia and his recent promise to deepen economic cooperation with Moscow have alarmed Ankara’s Western allies. Erdogan, who will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, said last month that there was “serious progress” in developing the Mir system in Turkey.
Five of Turkey’s largest banks, namely Deniz, Vakif, Ziarat, Ish and Halk, are members of the Mir payment system, which was developed by the Central Bank of Russia as a domestic alternative to Visa and Mastercard.
Deniz Private Bank and Halk State Bank became members of the Mir system after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said that while Ankara has a long-standing policy of enforcing UN-backed sanctions, it has been equally firm in its policy of not allowing the country to become a conduit for circumventing sanctions.
In the new scenario caused by the sanctions against Russia, according to which Russian tourists will not be able to buy plane tickets, book hotels and other places, the most popular tourist destinations will be the countries that work with Mir payment system cards.