Ankara agreed to stop the transit of Western goods to Russia through Turkey after pressure on the Turkish leadership from the G7 countries, a senior US official said, stressing that Washington will monitor trade data between Turkey. and Russia.

James O’Brien, head of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, told Reuters that Turkish officials stressed that they had imposed a ban on the re-export of sanctioned goods destined for Russia.

However, Washington has yet to see the consequences of this Turkish ban, the US official said.

“It will take us a while to see that, but we look at the March and April trade data and we expect those trades to drop sharply,” O’Brien said.

Türkiye – Kazakhstan – UAE – Hong Kong

The US and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, but supply routes remain open from Türkiye on the Black Sea and from other trade hubs, incl. Hong Kong.

The Turkish government handed over to companies a list of foreign goods subject to sanctions and instructed them not to ship them to Russia, a government order that came into force on March 1.

NATO member Turkey, from the very beginning of the Russian invasion, sought to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kiev.

He opposes Western sanctions on principle, but has made it clear that they cannot be circumvented through Turkey and that no goods sent to Russia can be used by the Russian military.

Senior US officials, including US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, traveled to Turkey after the Russian invasion and warned Turkish businesses and banks to resist US restrictions.

O’Brien also mentioned that Kazakhstan also announced a policy to review and identify transactions that may violate sanctions.

United Arab Emiratesalso said they would reconsider their trade relationship with Russia, but made no commitment to take any action, the head of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination said.

Russia today warned the West that if barriers to Russian grain and fertilizer exports are not lifted, Ukraine will be forced to export its grain by land and that Moscow will operate outside of a UN-sponsored grain export deal.

The future of the grain agreement is uncertain

The agreement, originally signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN last July and renewed twice, allows the export of food and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

While the West has not imposed sanctions on Russian food and fertilizer exports, Moscow says they are at risk due to barriers it says need to be lifted.

If the West continues to refuse to remove barriers to Russian exports, Moscow will pull out of the grain deal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today from Turkey, where he is on a two-day visit.

“We will work, if necessary, outside the framework of this initiative. We have the opportunity to do this with Turkey, with Qatar,” Lavrov said.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.