Top Turkish business group receives US letter on Russia sanctions risks

Turkey's leading TÜSİAD business association has announced that they received a letter from US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, warning of possible sanctions risks if companies establish relations with sanctioned Russian entities and individuals.

Tuesday August 23 2022 11:44 pm

This file photo shows TÜSİAD chair Orhan Turan

Reuters - Duvar English

The Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) has received a letter from United States (US) Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warning of possible sanctions risks if companies establish relations with sanctioned Russian entities and individuals.

In a statement, TÜSİAD said on Aug. 23 that it had shared the letter with the Turkish foreign ministry, finance ministry and trade ministry.

TÜSİAD'ın 23 Ağustos 2022 tarihli basın açıklaması:

🔗https://t.co/CHwKDeUIE3
— TÜSİAD (@TUSIAD) August 23, 2022

The Wall Street Journal previously on Aug. 22 reported that Adeyemo sent identical letters to the American Chamber of Commerce in Turkey and TÜSİAD, and warned for the risk of getting sanctioned for having "relationships with sanctioned Russian citizens and organizations".

On Aug. 20, Adeyemo told Turkish Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitaş that Russian entities and individuals were attempting to use Turkey to bypass Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Trade between Turkey and Russia has been booming since spring as Turkish companies not banned from dealing with Russian counterparts stepped in to fill the void created by EU businesses leaving Russia after its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

Turkey did not sanction Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, saying it remains reliant on Russian energy supplies.