The customs system of Turkey blocks the clearance of the transit of sanctioned goods to Russia, told “Kommersant FM” market participants. According to them, problems arose during the transit of sanctioned goods that go to Russia under parallel import schemes.
“Even yesterday, we started receiving notifications from agents that previously agreed flight bookings were being cancelled. They said that the reason is that goods transiting Turkey are no longer sent to Russia,” said Georgy Vlastopulo, CEO of Optimalog.
According to Valeria Savenkova, commercial director of Transasia Logistics, the Turkish authorities did not publish official orders and resolutions, since in this case they would have to admit the fact of deliveries of sanctioned products to Russia.
Some interlocutors of Kommersant FM link the stoppage of the transit of sanctioned goods with the recent visit to Turkey by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. According to the Financial Times, Turkey is also under pressure from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has become the main supplier of electronics to Russia. In 2022, the UAE increased its electronics exports to Russia sevenfold, to nearly $300 million.
The trade turnover between Russia and Turkey doubled from January to September 2022 and reached $45 billion. Following negotiations with Anthony Blinken, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu explained the growth in trade turnover with Russia by rising prices for natural gas, which the country buys from Moscow.