The United States and the European Union are dissatisfied with the actions of the Turkish establishment, which does not join the anti-Russian sanctions and even increases economic cooperation with the aggressor country. The readiness of the largest Turkish banks to work with the Russian Mir payment system attracts particular attention of the Western authorities. The US and the EU intend to stop its work in Turkey, reports the Financial Times, citing sources.
“We will send a very clear signal that third country financial institutions should not connect to the Mir payment network because, as you know, this comes with some sanctions evasion risks,” says one
Western countries see increased financial cooperation between Russia and Turkey as an attempt to create a loophole to avoid sanctions. At the moment, the five largest banks in Turkey have announced the increase in work with Mir cards: VakıfBank, Ziraat Bank, İş Bank, DenizBank and Halkbank. Particular attention of the US and the EU is attracted by DenizBank, which is owned by the state-owned financial holding Emirates NBD from the United Arab Emirates, and the state-owned Halkbank, which has previously been caught helping Iran to circumvent sanctions. Until 2018, DenizBank belonged to the sanctioned Sberbank.
İş Bank and DenizBank, in response to a request from the publication, stated that they respect and comply with the sanctions regime, and all transactions through the Mir system are carefully checked, as a result of which cooperation with sanctioned legal entities is impossible. Halkbank, VakıfBank and Ziraat Bank declined to comment.
“We need to close the loopholes,” another source said, noting that Turkey is currently the main target of Western countries as part of the policy of preventing Russia from helping to circumvent sanctions.
However, Turkey is not the only target for Western countries to tighten the policy of circumventing sanctions. Sources of the publication claim that they intend to hold similar negotiations with the Caucasian countries, the states of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. James O'Brien, coordinator of anti-Russian sanctions at the US State Department, is sure that "Russia will knock on every door," but the authorities of these countries should be aware of the risks that will follow from helping to circumvent sanctions.
After the outbreak of the Russian war against Ukraine, Turkey took a “low-key position”. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained this decision by the desire to maintain a window of opportunity for negotiations between the warring parties. However, in the summer, both states began to draw closer in the economic sphere: after Erdogan's visit to Sochi, the parties agreed to increase trade turnover, in particular, to switch to payment for gas supplies in national currencies, as well as to increase the opportunities for the Mir payment system to work in Turkey.