The Turkish President expresses desire to increase trade with Russia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his desire to increase the volume of trade exchanges between his country and Russia in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

“President Erdogan announced that he wants to develop cooperation between Türkiye and Russia in many areas, especially to increase the volume of trade exchanges,” the Turkish president said in a statement.

While he was quick to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Türkiye has chosen to remain neutral between the two countries and has not taken part in Western sanctions against Moscow.

The Turkish president attributed this policy to his country’s heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas.

Türkiye hasn’t implemented sanctions against Moscow, which has tried to maintain relations with both Russia and Ukraine during the war, leading to the withdrawal of Western companies and increased exports.

Türkiye’s largest exports to Russia include industrial machinery, fruits, vegetables and cars.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the emergence of strategic prospects for Russian-Turkish relations in various fields.

Currently, there is no European embargo on Russian gas, which continues to flow to parts of the continent, albeit in smaller quantities than before the war, and Russia ships gas directly to Türkiye via pipelines under the Black Sea.

In September 2023, Washington imposed sanctions on five Turkish companies for providing products and services to Russian defense companies.

In August 2022, the US Treasury warned the Turkish business community of possible sanctions if it continued to do business with Russia.