Six Western officials told the Financial Times they were concerned about a pledge by Turkish and Russian leaders on Friday to expand cooperation on trade and energy after a four-hour meeting in Sochi. An EU official said the 27-member bloc was monitoring Turkish-Russian cooperation “increasingly closely”, expressing concern that Turkey was “increasingly” becoming a platform for trade with Russia. Another described Turkey’s behavior towards Russia as “very opportunistic”, adding: “We are trying to get the Turks to pay attention to our concerns.” Washington has repeatedly warned that it will hit countries that help Russia evade sanctions with “secondary sanctions” that target violations beyond US legal jurisdiction. However, the EU was more cautious about this. US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with Turkish officials and Istanbul bankers in June to warn them against becoming a conduit for illicit Russian money. A senior Western official suggested the countries could call on their companies and banks to leave Turkey if President Erdogan follows through on the pledges he made on Friday – a highly unusual threat against another NATO member state that could to cripple the country’s $800 billion economy if foreign companies agreed to comply. The official said that states that have imposed sanctions on Russia could act against Ankara “by calling on Western companies to either withdraw from their relations in Turkey or shrink their relations with Turkey in light of the risk that was creating Turkey to expand their relations. relationship with Russia”. However, this proposal was rejected by several other Western officials, who questioned how it would work in practical and legal terms and whether it would be a good idea. Turkey is deeply integrated into the Western financial system, and brands from Coca-Cola and Ford to Bosch and BP have long-standing and often highly profitable operations in the country. “There are very important economic interests that would probably fight hard against such negative actions,” said one European official. But the official added that he “would not rule out any negative actions [if] Turkey is getting very close to Russia.” While he admitted that a formal EU decision on sanctions against Turkey would be challenging because of divisions within the bloc, he suggested that some individual member states could take action. “For example, they could ask for restrictions on trade finance or ask the big financial companies to reduce funding to Turkish companies,” he said. Three European officials said there had not yet been formal discussions in Brussels about possible implications for Turkey. Several others cautioned that the full details and implications of the Sochi talks were not yet clear. The warnings come a day after Putin and Erdogan — who has taken a “balanced” approach to Kyiv and Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February — held a lengthy one-on-one meeting that culminated in a joint pledge to increase the volume of bilateral trade and deepen economic and energy ties. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Moscow’s top energy official, told reporters that Turkey had agreed to start paying for Russian gas in rubles, according to Interfax. Putin and Erdogan discussed the further development of banking ties and settlements in rubles and pounds, he added. Speaking on his plane back from Russia, Erdogan told reporters there had also been “very serious developments” regarding the use of Russia’s MIR payment card system, which allows Russians in Turkey to pay by card at a time when Visa and Mastercard have suspended operations in their home country. Erdogan said MIR cards will help Russian tourists pay for shopping and hotels. Western officials fear they could also be used to help circumvent sanctions. Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the West are already strained. Washington hit Ankara with sanctions in 2020 in retaliation for its purchase of an S-400 air defense system from Moscow, although the measures targeted the country’s defense industry rather than the wider economy. Erdogan, who has repeatedly threatened to veto the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland, is seen in many Western capitals as an increasingly unreliable ally. However, Turkey is a vital partner for Europe in the fight against terrorism and refugees. The country is home to around 3.7 million Syrians under a deal struck with the EU in 2016 that has helped stem the flow of migrants to Europe. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has underscored Turkey’s strategic position, controlling access to the straits linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Erdogan also played a key role in securing the grain deal Russia and Ukraine signed last month, which was aimed at averting a global food crisis.
