Erdogan considers Western sanctions against Russia unsuitable for Turkey

Turkey has a special, evolving relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite growing pressure on Ankara to increase Western sanctions against Moscow. This was stated by Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview with CNN.

“We are not at the stage when we would impose sanctions against Russia, as the West did. We are not bound by Western sanctions. We are a strong state, and we have positive relations with Russia,” he stressed.

According to the Turkish president, Moscow and Ankara need each other in every possible area.

Erdogan also recommended that the West follow Turkey's lead and take a more balanced approach to Russia, which he said would be a much more "successful approach."

In June 2022, the official representative of the Turkish President, Ibrahim Kalin, said that Turkey did not intend to join the anti-Russian sanctions of the West.

Ankara periodically receives relevant requests from the West, however, it “adheres to the policy of balance” and protects its interests. He explained that Turkey's economic relations with Russia are of such a nature that the introduction of restrictions will harm the Turkish economy.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, at a press conference with his American counterpart Anthony Blinken, noted that Ankara does not join the unilateral sanctions against Russia, but does not allow them to be circumvented.

The FT previously wrote that the deepening economic cooperation between Moscow and Ankara caused concern among the Western authorities, they pointed to the risk of secondary sanctions against Turkey. By mid-August last year, a number of Western countries turned to Turkey with questions about growing trade with Russia.