Turkey has blocked the transit of sanctioned goods to russia

In March 2023, Turkey stopped the transit of sanctioned goods to russia, supporting the measures introduced by the European Union and the United States due to the invasion of Ukraine.

As a Turkish official told Bloomberg, the government ordered to stop the transit of sanctioned goods through Turkey from March 1, in accordance with the sanctions.

“The cargo registration system in Turkey simply stopped working,” said a representative of the Moscow-based company Vendor Cargo, which delivers goods through Turkey.

The customs system now blocks goods bound for russia, she added.

Turkey’s position is related to the EU’s expansion of sanctions against Russia, said Mustafa Boyajioglu, the chief executive officer of the Istanbul customs brokerage company Subasi. He confirmed the blocking of transit and said that there was no official announcement or transition period before the implementation, which caused confusion among companies.

“The solution may be to first send products to countries not associated with sanctions, for example, to the countries of Central Asia. There shouldn’t be a problem with goods that were first imported to Turkey and then sent to Russia, but we’re not even sure about that because the restrictions seem to be related to origin,” Boyadcioglu said.

As the agency notes, last year Turkey became one of the centers of supply of goods to the Russian Federation. At the same time, Turkey’s exports to russia last year amounted to $9.3 billion, compared to $5.8 billion in 2021, which testified to the difficulties the EU and the US had in creating a united front against Putin.