Cavusoglu: Türkiye does not support Western sanctions against Russia

According to the report of Fars International News Agency, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated today (Monday) that Ankara does not support Western economic restrictions against Russia.

According to the report of the Russian Rashatudi channel, this senior Turkish diplomat made these statements on the eve of the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to be held on Sunday.

He stated: “We do not intend to join the unilateral sanctions of the United States and the European Union against Russia. Our benefit and well-being is a priority.”

The Turkish Foreign Minister also criticized “Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu”, the opposition candidate for the Turkish presidential election, who said that he would give priority to the development of relations with the West.

Çavuşoğlu’s comments come as the European Union has consistently expressed concern over Turkey’s refusal to participate in Western sanctions against Russia, accusing Ankara of becoming a transit hub for Russia and enabling Moscow to bypassing economic sanctions.

According to this report, Ankara is one of Moscow’s main business partners, and the two sides have expressed their desire to deepen economic cooperation and expand bilateral trade.

Last year, Turkey and Russia signed a roadmap for economic cooperation, according to which the volume of bilateral trade will reach 100 billion dollars a year. The two sides also agreed to introduce the Russian ruble as the settlement currency for bilateral trade, including for the supply of Russian natural gas.

The data shows that in the current period last year, Turkey was one of the top five exporters to Russia. In 2021, Turkey ranked 11th ahead of the US, France, Japan, Poland and Italy.

Following the beginning of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, while condemning Moscow and intensifying economic pressures, Western countries have put all-round political, financial, and weapons support for Kiev on the agenda.

The financial system and Russian banks, as well as the Russian military and aviation industry, were the first sectors to be targeted by Western sanctions. Many officials and news media predicted that the Russian economy would collapse under the pressure of sanctions.

However, last August, Bloomberg News and The Washington Post reported that the sanctions had failed to bring about the economic collapse that the West had hoped for. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country’s economy was performing better than many G20 countries. In April, the World Bank reported that the Russian economy performed better than expected.

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