Turkey blocks payments from Russian firms to EU suppliers

Turkish banks are refusing to process payments from Russian companies to EU countries and other states, reports the Russian newspaper Vedomosti. European banks have also started refusing payments from Turkish banks made by Russian importers to suppliers.

Importers are again complaining about problems with payments through Turkey, whose banks are popular among domestic businesses and are used to transfer payments to other countries, including Europe, emphasized the newspaper "Vedomosti."

It was noted that "pressures" are coming from both Turkish and European banks.

The last time a similar situation was observed was at the beginning of this year when the Turkish banking sector began to fear so-called secondary American sanctions for cooperating with Russian firms.

The problem intensified again in the summer. European banks started to refuse payments from Turkish banks for goods supplying the Russian side, sources reported.

As a result, at the beginning of September, the Turkish banking sector began to refuse such payments for Russian importers, wrote the newspaper.

In July, Russian media reported that supplies of goods from Turkey to Russia fell by almost 30% due to payment problems. Bilateral trade was negatively impacted by the risk of the US imposing secondary sanctions on Turkish banks accepting payments from Russia.

At the end of 2023, US President Joe Biden enabled the imposition of secondary sanctions on banks from third countries for cooperating with Russian entities under sanctions and supporting the Russian defense industry.