Turkey has secretly banned the export to Russia of more than 40 categories of civilian goods of American origin that could be used for military purposes, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, Meduza reported.
According to the newspaper’s sources, the Turkish authorities introduced the restrictions “in recent weeks” by making changes to the country’s electronic customs system. The restrictions affect civilian parts, including microchips and remote control systems that can be used for weapons by the Russian army. The US has reportedly provided Turkey with a list of goods that can be used for military purposes.
One of the sources said that Turkey did not publicly announce the restrictions for “political reasons”. The newspaper said the ban was imposed after Washington warned Ankara of the “consequences” of such trade with Moscow. The Turkish Trade Ministry and the Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov did not respond to FT requests for comment.
Exports of dual-use goods from Turkey to Russia increased sharply shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia’s troops in Ukraine. In the first months of the war, according to official Turkish statistics, the volume of exports of such goods amounted to about three million dollars a month and peaked in December 2022.
Turkey was one of the countries that Vladimir Putin’s regime used to circumvent Western restrictions introduced after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ankara maintains good relations with Moscow, but at the same time is more dependent on Western countries militarily and economically.