The administration of US President Joe Biden has blacklisted five Turkish companies and a Turkish national as part of new sanctions aiming to hamstring the Russian economy over the Ukraine war.
The sanctions issued on Thursday target shipping and trade companies accused of helping repair sanctioned vessels tied to Russia’s defense ministry and helping the transfer of “dual-use goods.”
Three Turkish firms were placed under sanctions for supplying Russian defense-related manufacturers. Another two Turkish firms, and the owner of one of them, were hit for providing ship repair services to vessels involved with the Russian defense sector.
They were among more than 150 individuals, companies and institutions added to the US Treasury and State Department blacklists for their alleged roles in supporting Russia during the war.
“The US government is targeting individuals and entities engaged in sanctions evasion and circumvention, those complicit in furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine, and those responsible for bolstering Russia’s future energy production,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.
Multiple senior US officials, including Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, have traveled to Turkey in recent months as part of a pressure campaign to prevent any Turkish companies from helping Russia circumvent US curbs.
“For the past 18 months, we’ve shared our concerns with the Turkish government and private sector and informed them of the significant risks of doing business with those we’ve sanctioned who are tied to Russia’s war,” a senior US Treasury official was quoted as saying.
“These designations reflect our ongoing commitment to target individuals and entities who provide material support to sanctioned entities,” the official added.
The action was taken at a delicate moment for US-Turkey relations. Ties with the US have been strained over Turkey’s reluctance to support the bids of Sweden and Finland to join NATO following the Ukraine war.
While Finnish membership was sealed in April, Sweden’s application remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.
Ankara has accused Sweden of harboring militants hostile to the Turkish state.
After months of objections, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed at a NATO summit in July to forward Sweden’s NATO bid to the Turkish parliament for ratification, but the exact timing of the approval remains unclear.
The United States has repeatedly said Sweden has done enough to alleviate Turkey’s concerns and that its membership should be approved now.
Russia is already under harsh sanctions by the US. Ever since the war began, Kiev’s allies, led by the United States and Britain, have been supplying Ukraine with weapons, a step that Russia says would prolong the conflict.
