Turkey supplies Russian oil to the European Union bypassing sanctions, despite the ban on fuel imports from Russia to European countries.
Source. This was reported by Politico.
Turkey is using a loophole in Western sanctions – they can be circumvented by changing the brand of fuel. Thus, Turkey imports "mixed" fuel to the EU, labelling the oil as Turkish.
Turkish refineries can process about one million barrels of oil per day. This allows them to blend Russian oil with other products and legally export it to the EU as Turkish oil.
The publication notes that one of the main importers of such "mixed" fuel is Greece. At the same time, Athens assures that the country exercises appropriate control and does not allow violations.
According to research, Moscow has received up to €3 billion a year through the relabelling of oil in just three ports in Turkey: Ceyhan, Marmara-Ereğlis and Mersin.
According to the newspaper, Turkey has become an important transit point for Russian oil products to the EU.
Turkey's fuel purchases from Russia increased by 105% between February 2023 and February 2024 compared to the previous 12 months. Turkish fuel exports to the EU increased by 107% during this period.
In February 2023, a ban on the supply of Russian oil products to the EU came into force. However, European countries are now purchasing them from countries that supply Russian oil. According to researchers tracking tanker voyages, about 35 million barrels of oil from Russia were refined into fuel for the EU over the year.
Background. Reuters recently reported that Russia has been secretly supplying oil to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions, and the US is planning new sanctions in response.