The US Treasury Department’s top sanctions official will visit T\u00fcrkiye and the United Arab Emirates next week to warn officials and businesses there that Washington will punish them if they dodge its sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported on Saturday.
\nBrian Nelson, the department\u2019s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, will travel to Oman, the UAE, and T\u00fcrkiye between Sunday and Friday. Meeting with government officials, businesses and financial institutions, Nelson will caution them that they could lose access to US markets\u00a0\u201con account of doing business with sanctioned entities,\u201d\u00a0a Treasury spokesperson told the news agency.
\nUS officials have repeatedly highlighted T\u00fcrkiye as a potential hub of sanctions evasion, and unnamed Western officials told the Financial Times in August that they were\u00a0\u201cdeeply concerned\u201d\u00a0about allegations of trade between Turkish firms and sanctioned Russian entities.
\nAnkara responded that it\u00a0\u201cwould not allow the breaching of sanctions by any institution or person,\u201d\u00a0following a\u00a0phone call\u00a0in which US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo seemingly threatened the\u00a0\u201csuccess of the Turkish economy\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cthe integrity of its banking sector.\u201d
\nThe UAE has also received warnings from Washington, with Adeyemo\u00a0urging\u00a0the Emirates\u2019 financial institutions last summer to be\u00a0\u201cexceedingly cautious\u201d\u00a0about doing business with other institutions connected to\u00a0\u201cthe Russian financial system.\u201d\u00a0The Treasury spokesperson told Reuters that Nelson will condemn the UAE\u2019s\u00a0\u201cpoor sanctions compliance\u201d\u00a0during his visit.
\nIn the last month, the US has sanctioned a prominent Turkish businessman over allegedly laundering money for Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and a UAE-based aviation firm over alleged sales to Russia\u2019s Wagner private military corporation. Multiple Emirati companies have also been penalized for evading US sanctions on Iran.
\nBoth T\u00fcrkiye and the UAE voted at the UN General Assembly last year to condemn Russia\u2019s military operation in Ukraine, but neither has imposed sanctions of their own on Moscow. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has maintained close contact with his colleagues in both Kiev and Moscow, and said from the outset that his diplomatic handling of the conflict would be\u00a0\u201cbalanced.\u201d
\nWith T\u00fcrkiye and the US also at loggerheads over Ankara\u2019s refusal to sign off on Finland\u2019s and Sweden\u2019s bids for NATO membership, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin last week\u00a0affirmed\u00a0their intent to\u00a0\u201cdevelop comprehensive cooperation,\u201d\u00a0including by increasing the supply of Russian gas to T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n