ISTANBUL 27 Aug (Online): Turkiye\u2019s fin\u00aca\u00acnce minister on Friday dismissed as \u201cmeaningless\u201d con\u00accerns among Turkish businesses over a US Trea\u00acsury warning that they risked being penalised if they maintained commercial ties with Russians under sanctions.<\/p>\n
Nato-member Turkiye has sought to strike a balance between Moscow and Kyiv by criticising Russia\u2019s invasion and sending arms to Ukraine, while opposing the Western sanctions and continuing trade, tourism and investment with Russia.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Nure\u00acddin Nebati said Turkiye was determined to improve economic and trade relations with its neighbours \u201cwithin a framework that is not subject to sanctions\u201d.<\/p>\n
Some Turkish firms have purchased or sought to buy Russian assets from Western partners pulling back, while others maintain major assets in Russia. Ankara has said Western sanctions will not be circumvented in Turkiye.<\/p>\n
The US Treasury warned both the country\u2019s largest business group TUSIAD and Nebati\u2019s ministry this month that Russian entities were attempting to use Turkiye to bypass Western sanctions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is meaningless for a letter relayed to Turkish business groups to create concern in our business circles,\u201d Nebati said in a tweet. \u201cWe are pleased to see that the United States, our ally and trade partner, is inviting its businesses to invest in our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
All players in Turkey\u2019s economy are tied to free market principles and are working to obtain a bigger share of global trade, and the government is \u201cbeside its business world on this path,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tim Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, said Nebati\u2019s response risked annoying Washington, making secondary sanctions on Turkiye more likely.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt reads like telling the Yanks, the Turkish state is strong enough to withstand any actions you might take against us,\u201d Ash wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n
Turkey, which has Black Sea borders with both Russia and Ukraine, has said joining sanctions against Russia would have hurt its already strained economy and argued that it is focused on mediation efforts.<\/p>\n
One benefit for Turkey has been a jump in foreign arrivals, thanks largely to Russian visitors with few other options due to Western flight restrictions.<\/p>\n
The head of a metal exporters group said this month that Russian demand for Turkish products had increased, and that Turkish companies had received enquiries from European businesses about supplying Russia via Turkiye.<\/p>\n
Officials from Turkiye, Finland and Sweden agreed on Friday to keep meeting in the coming months to discuss security concerns that Turkey raised as a precondition for allowing the two Nordic countries to join the Nato military alliance.<\/p>\n
Officials from the three countries held their first such meeting on Friday in Vantaa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISTANBUL 27 Aug (Online): Turkiye\u2019s fin\u00aca\u00acnce minister on Friday dismissed as \u201cmeaningless\u201d con\u00accerns among Turkish businesses over a US Trea\u00acsury warning that they risked being penalised if they maintained commercial ties with Russians under sanctions. Nato-member Turkiye has sought to strike a balance between Moscow […]<\/p>\n
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