US Warns Turkey of Potential Sanctions

US officials have warned the Turkish government about the "real risk" of imposing restrictions on Turkish companies that assist Russia in evading sanctions, reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing Western officials.

According to them, Washington is highly concerned about how Turkey aids Russia in circumventing sanctions. Specifically, officials said that Western electronics are entering Russia via Turkish territory, and Turkish ports continue to accept Russian vessels that are under sanctions.

"We are in constant dialogue with the Turkish government on these issues. We sincerely hope that we can avoid a scenario where a Turkish company would be subjected to sanctions," one of the publication's sources stated.

US officials are particularly worried about the "shadow" fleet operating through Turkish territory, which helps Russia deliver oil to Asian countries while evading the price cap imposed by G7 nations.

According to WSJ, one of the largest operators of the "shadow" fleet is the Turkish Beks Ship Management, founded over a decade ago. As of 2021, the company’s fleet consisted of six vessels. Since then, the company has rapidly expanded, and by August 2023, the fleet had grown to 41 vessels, with a total value of $782 million.

The overall value of the company’s fleet has increased nearly tenfold over the past two and a half years. A representative of Beks Ship Management, Cemil Ersoz, told reporters that the vessels were acquired through banks in France, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. He stated that the financing did not come from Russia.

WSJ notes that Beks Ship Management is not the only company in Russia's "shadow" fleet. According to the publication, hundreds of vessels around the world, owned by companies from Greece, India, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, are helping Russia evade sanctions. Furthermore, these companies themselves avoid secondary sanctions by operating outside standard industry practices.

Since the onset of large-scale war in Ukraine, Western countries have imposed numerous sanctions against Russia, focusing particularly on Russian energy resources. In December 2022, the EU's oil embargo came into force, prohibiting EU countries from purchasing seaborne Russian oil. Simultaneously, a price cap was introduced, among other measures, restricting Western insurance companies from insuring vessels carrying Russian oil above the set cap. Against this backdrop of restrictions, Russia has begun forming a "shadow" fleet.