Since the beginning of January 2024, Turkish banks have been blocking payments from Russia.
Ekonomim writes about this, citing sources familiar with the situation. According to them, the flow of payments for trade transactions has practically stopped, and trade in national currencies has been hit: Turkish banks do not accept either lira or rubles from Russia.
Some banks have begun to cancel previously approved transactions, claiming that the deals involve banned goods, Ekonomim's sources say. The payment blockade has become almost total and has affected all industries: banks are blocking payments from Russia to Turkish chemical companies, auto parts factories, clothing and footwear manufacturers.
The problems arose shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Turkey. During his visit, he discussed "sanctions and export controls" and possible attempts to circumvent them with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Earlier, in late November, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adayemo, who is responsible for overseeing sanctions policy, visited Ankara. According to Bloomberg sources, Adayemo brought a "final warning" to Turkish companies: for violating measures against Russia, they were threatened with financial sanctions, up to and including the loss of access to the Western banking system.
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Turkey doubled its supply of goods to Russia, replacing the Western companies that had left and helping Russian businesses circumvent restrictions.
In the first half of 2023, Turkish exports to Russia reached a record $4.9 billion, up from $2.6 billion in the same period a year earlier.
In November, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted more than 20 companies from China, Turkey and the UAE, which, according to Washington, supplied sanctioned products to Russia.
In Turkey, 7 firms that supplied microcircuits, lithium-ion batteries, and metal processing equipment to Russia, as well as purchased sanctioned goods in the United States and redirected them to companies associated with the Russian military-industrial complex, were subject to US blocking sanctions.