Russia asks Turkey to help bypass sanctions that are already felt - wp

Moscow hopes to persuade Turkey to help overtake her restrictions in the field of finance and energy, journalists clarify. Today, on August 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish head Recep Erdogan in Sochi. In two weeks, this is the second meeting of the leaders of the two states, and it "causes fears that the Kremlin can strengthen the economic ties with the NATO member country, which has not joined the imposition of sanctions against Moscow.

" Within the meeting, representatives of the Russian side intend to persuade their colleagues from Turkey to turn the country into a hub, which will allow Moscow to bypass the most painful sanctions. In particular, Russia wants to buy shares in Turkish oil refineries, oil terminals and tanks. According to economists, it will hide the origin of exports after the EU oil embargo will come into force next year.

The Kremlin also hopes that several state Turkish banks open correspondent accounts for the largest banks of the Russian Federation, although it is a gross violation of Western sanctions. In addition, the Russian side asks to eliminate restrictions on business that now prohibit the activities of industrial companies in the aggressor country within special economic zones.

According to the publication, today there are no signs that Turkey will support these arrangements, because the country will put its own banks and companies under the threat of secondary sanctions and will cover them with access to the western markets, which Ankara is quite unprofitable. In addition, a representative of the Turkish delegation commented on journalists that Turkey still supports Ukraine's sovereignty and independence. In this case, he called "principled position".

Western officials who talked to the publication on the conditions of anonymity stressed that they did not know about the plans of the Russian Federation to convince Turkey to support the Kremlin. However, they are aware that Russia is looking for ways to bypass sanctions because the economical harm from them is becoming more and more tangible.

According to them, Russian representatives are now actively traveling to different countries in search of any help, and Turkey is no exception because of the "weak force of law" in this country. At the same time, such initiatives can be considered a sign of increased concern for the Russian regime. Serious problems today are already observed in industry and pharmaceuticals, and the banking sector of the Russian Federation Western officials call the "zombie system".