Western nations suspect Turkey of conniving at sanctions busting

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 28 Nov 2023 by Alex Teddy
On November 27 The Financial Times reported that Turkey's sale of militarily applicable goods to Russia has shot up since 2022. There are 45 items that are dual use. They are sold to Russia directly or indirectly. The explanation is that they have a civilian use as well as a military one. The items include microchips, telescopic sight instruments and communications. Turkey sold USD 158 million worth of these items to former Soviet countries from January to September 2023—the figure for the 6 years preceding the Ukraine War was USD 28 million.  Japan, the US, the UK and the European Union have banned the sale of these items to Russia. Turkey imports items from advanced Western countries.  The suspicion is that items that are officially bound for Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are often sold directly to Russia. Customs data for these countries shows that imports of these items have scarcely increased. Turkey sold USD 61 million of sanctioned goods to Kazakhstan January to September 2023 but Kazakhstan only reported receiving USD 6.6 million of them.  Bearing in mind the corruptibility of the Turkish authorities it is probable that Turkish customs officers were bribed to falsify the paperwork. Turkey claims to be enforcing Western sanctions but admits that a few companies might have accidentally breached them. The sanctioned items are probably used in military helicopters, missiles and drones. Western governments have quietly raised the issue with Turkey. Turkey is suffering 10% inflation and an economic downturn. It does not want to miss out on easy profits. Turkey is the only NATO country not to sanction Russia. It hosted peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in...

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