They don't know how to push them apart; The USA has a proposal, but Europe opposes it

They don't know how to push them apart; The USA has a proposal, but Europe opposes it

They warn that Turkey, as a member of NATO, could bear the consequences because of this, writes the Financial Times.

On Friday, Turkish and Russian President Erdogan and Putin met in Sochi and after a four-hour meeting promised to expand cooperation in trade and energy. FT reporters spoke to six unnamed Western officials who expressed concern that Turkey is increasingly becoming a platform for trade with Russia. Washington warns that countries that help Russia avoid sanctions will also be subject to sanctions, but Brussels is more reserved.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with Turkish officials and Istanbul bankers in June to warn them that it was unacceptable for them to become a conduit for illegal Russian money.

An unnamed official told the FT that countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia could call on Western factories to either pull out of Turkey or reduce business with Turkey, due to expanding Turkish relations with Russia. But EU members reject it, raising questions about how it would work in practical and legal terms. Turkey is deeply integrated into the Western trade and financial makeup. In addition, the division within the EU would hardly allow the adoption of a unified position on Turkey.

But the FT writes that individual member states could take measures against Turkey, such as funding restrictions. Three European officials said there had been no official talks in Brussels yet about possible consequences for Turkey.

They accepted rubles as general business currency

On Friday, Putin and Erdoğan pledged to increase trade and deepen state and energy ties. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters that Turkey has agreed to pay for Russian gas in rubles.

Putin and Erdogan discussed further development of banking ties and settlements in rubles and liras, he added. Erdogan told reporters that there was a "very serious development" in the use of the Russian payment card system MIR, which allows Russians in Turkey to pay with cards even after Visa and Mastercard suspended business with Russia. Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the West are already strained. Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara in 2020 in retaliation for its purchase of the S-400 air defense system from Moscow, but they were limited to the military industry. Erdogan, who has repeatedly threatened to veto the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO, is seen in many Western capitals as an increasingly unreliable ally. Nevertheless, Turkey is a key partner of Europe in the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration, reminds FT. Turkey has taken in around 3.7 million Syrians as part of a 2016 deal with the EU that helped stem the flow of migrants to Europe.

The war in Ukraine highlighted the strategically important position of Turkey. Erdogan also played a key role in securing a grain deal signed by Russia and Ukraine last month.