The Biden administration plans to slap sanctions on five Turkish firms and a Turkish citizen on Thursday, accusing them of assisting Russia in evading sanctions and backing Moscow in its conflict against Ukraine, according to a senior Treasury source.
The designations will be a part of a larger package targeting Russia with sanctions on more than 150 entities. These include shipping and trade businesses suspected of aiding in the repair of sanctioned vessels linked to Russia’s defense ministry and aiding the transit of “dual-use goods.”
The U.S. Treasury will designate Margiana Insaat Dis Ticaret and Demirci Bilisim Ticaret Sanayi, claiming that the businesses were among those that Russia depended on for importing “much needed dual-use goods to enable its unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine.” It said the latter smuggled sensors and measurement equipment into Russia, while the former delivered hundreds of shipments to sanctioned firms that are a component of the supply chain for making military drones used in the aggression against Ukraine.
Denkar Ship Construction will face penalties from the US State Department for providing ship repair services to previously identified vessels of a corporation linked to Russia’s Defense Ministry. Additionally, U.S. authorities would target the Turkish shipbuilding firm ID Ship firm, its owner Ilker Dogruyol, and CTL Limited, which the State Department claimed served as a middleman for the delivery of electrical components of American and European origins to businesses in Russia.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies imposed severe sanctions on it. However, supply routes from Turkey, a country bordering the Black Sea, and other trading centers have remained open, leading Washington to issue repeated advisories about the export of chemicals, microchips, and other products that could be used in Moscow’s war effort.
Turkey, a NATO member, has made an effort to keep friendly ties with both Moscow and Kiev throughout the conflict. Since February 2022, a number of senior U.S. officials, including Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, have visited Turkey as part of a pressure campaign to stop any Turkish corporations from assisting Russia in getting under U.S. restrictions.
