Commission: We are concerned about the circumvention of sanctions against Russia by Turkey

Her concern about the circumvention of sanctions against Russia by third countries and the intention of the European Commission to appoint and send a high-ranking official to act as a monitor and negotiator in cases of circumvention, the President of the Commission expressed today, Ursula von der Leyenanswering a question about Turkey’s position on this issue.

In particular, invited by APE-MPE to comment on the attitude of third countries, including them Turkey that circumvent sanctions in various ways, Ursula von der Leyen said that indeed, “It is an issue we are concerned about, the circumvention of sanctions by third countries” and explained that in the 8th package of EU sanctions against Russia, the possibility of imposing sanctions on people (businessmen) who trade goods from the EU through third countries to Russia has been added.

“This is a very strong deterrent. We are very clear about this that we will not tolerate these abuses.” noted Ursula von der Leyen and added

“It is in our intentions to appoint an envoy for the circumvention of sanctions, because our experience says that it is very useful to have an envoy in third countries, to be very clear about what we are observing. It’s a dialogue that needs to be had. Also, to ensure that we have the means to put on the sanctions list, people who circumvent them, through third countries, which shows very well that we do not tolerate that.”

In the conclusions of the Summit, under the chapter concerning the war in Ukraine and in particular the implementation of sanctions against Russia, the European Council emphasizes “the importance of ensuring their effective implementation, preventing their circumvention and facilitation and calls on all countries to align with EU sanctions”. He also points out that “efforts in this matter must be intensified”.