Turkish presidency: We will not join the West’s anti-Russian sanctions
Turkey has reiterated that it will not participate in the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, against the background of the Russian war in Ukraine.
The Turkish presidency said: “We have said that we will not join the sanctions, and this is based on our economic interests, as we depend on external energy sources”.
Presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın explained in a television interview: “We have made our position clear to the West.. Sanctions will first hurt Turkey’s economy, and we don’t want that”.
Earlier today (Sunday), Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay revealed that consultations are underway to agree to hold a meeting on the issue of grain in Istanbul, where there are some problems that we are working on.
He continued: “We are not affected by this situation and we do not have problems and we are in a good situation”, he said. “However, we do not want the countries of the region to face problems and a grain crisis”.
The Turkish official said: ‘This issue must be resolved because it means the whole world and not a particular country or region’.
Western countries accuse Russia of blocking grain shipments at Black Sea ports, while Moscow insists that Ukraine has mined the ports, making shipments impossible.
The Western camp is tightening the blockade on Russia with new sanctions, and the G7 leaders intend to impose various sanctions on Moscow.
Leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan will meet on Sunday at the start of a three-day summit at the Palais Elmau in the mountains of Bavaria to increase pressure on Russia in its war with Ukraine.
The leaked news indicates that the G7 leaders will impose new sanctions related to Russian oil imports, as well as sanctions related to Russian gold.
