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ANKARA, March 7Deputy Chairman of the largest Turkish opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Volkan Demir, told the Aydınlık newspaper that trade with Russia in the context of severe US sanctions pressure on Ankara will bring “big troubles” to the Turkish economy, while the politician called publications about threats to the American “tabloid” side to Turkish exporters.
The Aydınlık newspaper reported that diplomats from the US Embassy and Consulate General in Ankara and Istanbul are visiting Turkish companies and financial institutions and threatening them over trade relations with Russia. Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexey Erkhov previously said that US representatives are “terrorizing” Turkish businesses working with the Russian Federation, Washington’s pressure on Turkish companies contradicts the norms of interstate communication. The chairman of the Turkish VATAN (Homeland) party, Dogu Perincek, in an interview called on Ankara to declare American diplomats who threaten businessmen for trading with Russia persona non grata; according to him, the economy is at a dead end due to payment problems between Ankara and Moscow.
«Some of the things you say about Russia are tabloid. We cannot make politics out of it. This is done through diplomacy and agents. But there is also this fact: The US is monitoring trade with Russia through its own system, and MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Council) in Turkey is monitoring it.Only 15 days ago, it blacklisted 7 companies.So it seems that trading with Russia will bring trouble to us as a whole and to the Turkish economy,» Demir said.
The publication previously reported that a number of Turkish businessmen intend to file lawsuits against US officials who threaten them with sanctions for trading with Russia.