■ TAIK President Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ stated that the Turkish business world is extremely careful not to do business with people or companies under sanctions in trade with Russia, and said, “We see and hear the high sensitivity shown by our business world on this issue and we are extremely pleased with this trend.”
■ Yalçındağ, “We defend the sovereignty of Ukraine; Could we have opened the grain corridor if it were not for this multi-faceted policy that we deal with by separating the problems we have with Russia from the issues we want to develop? This policy is more beneficial for our country, Ukraine and the world.”
The first statement regarding the letter of warning about ‘trade with Russia’, written by the United States Deputy Treasury Secretary Adeyemo and sent to some representative organizations of the Turkish business world, came from the Turkey-USA Business Council.
Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ, Chairman of the Turkey-USA Business Council (TAIK), operating under DEİK, said, “Our country’s stance in this war is very clear. Contrary to what is reflected in some western sources, Turkey is a breath of fresh air to Ukraine, not Russia. No matter how accurately we explain our intentions and actions, some interpret what is happening as they wish. However, it is the right time for us to re-establish a good communication and trust environment with our ally. If they can read Turkey’s intentions and steps correctly and choose to stay in close contact with us, they can come out of this stronger,” he said.
“We support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”
Yalçındağ stated that Turkey has shown its sincerity towards the end of the war on various occasions and through diligent efforts, and made the following assessments:
“We do not recognize the annexation of Crimea. We are sending humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. We sell weapons to Ukraine. Our country hosts 350 thousand Ukrainian refugees. Most importantly, we support Ukraine’s territorial integrity, political independence and sovereignty. How can we call our stance on these issues to be equidistant from the name of this policy? “To call it that way just confuses you,” he said.
“Business world conducts its relations with care and attention”
Stating that the Turkish business world was very careful in its commercial relations with Russia before the one-page letter signed by the US Deputy Minister, Yalçındağ said that they will conduct their relations with the same care and attention from now on, and said, “The Turkish business world is in a relationship with Russian companies and individuals under sanctions. does not trade. We are happy to see that we are extremely sensitive on this issue” and expressed the following views: “Those who see us closer to Russia in the Ukraine-Russia war either have bad eyes or ignore certain things. The aforementioned letter has also been forwarded to us. I find it useful to evaluate these letters in the following way. At a time when everyone is shrinking and cutting their economic and commercial relations with Russia, we may have intended to increase them. Doesn’t increasing economic and commercial relations mean increased money and goods traffic? It may be true that commercial products that are not within the scope of sanctions and the means we will establish for related payments carry the risk of being abused by those who suffer from the sanctions. This increased traffic and accessibility will naturally be desired to be abused by sanctions opportunists or individuals and institutions under sanctions in Russia. When such a risk arises, American or US-affiliated companies doing business in Turkey or with Turkish companies will do their best not to suffer from this environment – or they will renounce their long-standing commercial relations. That’s why American companies and finance Our Turkish companies, which are in commercial relations with their companies, naturally need to pay attention to this issue for the sustainability of their relations. We see and hear the high sensitivity shown by our Turkish business world in this regard and we are extremely pleased with this trend.”
Emphasizing that Russia is a border neighbor of Turkey in the Black Sea, Yalçındağ said, “Doesn’t every step taken by Russia in the Caucasus, Syria and even the Balkans directly concern our country? They say don’t buy a house, buy a neighbor – our place is clear. We strive to reduce our energy dependence on Russia. You will see, in 2022 we will become the country that buys the most American LNG, but how can we cut our energy imports from Russia from today to tomorrow? Tourism an important sector of ours – how can we say don’t come?” he said.
We were able to open the grain aisle thanks to our versatile policy
“Maybe it’s easier to say ‘do this’ for countries hundreds of kilometers away from Russia, with historically more distant relations. But how can we erase our trade and bilateral relations with Russia from today to tomorrow?” Yalçındağ said, “We should not forget that we will be neighbors tomorrow as we are neighbors today. Believe me, it is not possible for a second country to successfully implement this sensitive policy implemented by Turkey. we defend the sovereignty of Ukraine; Could we have opened the grain corridor if it were not for this multi-faceted policy that we deal with by separating the problems we have with Russia from the issues we want to develop? This policy is more beneficial for our country, Ukraine and the world.”
Adewale Adeyemo’s letter reached the WORLD
WORLD has reached the business NGOs operating in Turkey with the letter from the US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Adewale (Wally) Adeyemo. Here is the translation of the letter:
“I was pleased to meet with the Turkish business community during my visit in July. The fact that your companies continue to grow despite significant difficulties shows that; Turkish business people are among the most innovative groups in the world. For this reason, large American companies continue to invest in Turkey and include Turkish companies in their supply chains. By being an ally of Turkey, we have a great interest in the success of your economy.
I am writing this letter to you to express my concern at the increased risks for Turkish companies and American companies doing business in Turkey due to Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions through your country. As you know, the United States, which together represent more than half of the world economy, our allies in the G-7 and a coalition of more than 30 countries, need to generate revenue to prevent Russia from entering the international financial system and to finance the unjustifiable war in Ukraine. We have taken strong measures to prevent it. We did this even though it was costly to our economies. We have collectively imposed financial restrictions and sanctions against thousands of individuals and institutions to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from obtaining the resources he needs to wage his war. We, as the United States and its partners, have also imposed sanctions on those who try to circumvent the original sanctions, by imposing sanctions on those who are involved in Russia’s breaching or backtracking of sanctions.
Media reports that the Turkish and Russian governments have decided to deepen their economic relations newsraised our concerns that Turkish and western companies doing business in Turkey will allow the Kremlin to circumvent the sanctions we have imposed against their will. While bringing this matter directly to the knowledge of the Turkish government, we wanted to convey directly to the business world the risks posed by close relations with Russia for your companies.
Persons or institutions that provide any material support to those who are sanctioned by the USA are also at risk of being exposed to US sanctions. While doing business with sanctioned Russian persons or institutions, Turkish companies should not expect to establish financial and economic relations with other countries and the United States that take steps to hold Russia accountable for their actions. Turkish banks should not expect to have correspondent relations with Russian banks under sanctions, and to maintain correspondent relations with important global banks, while also having access to the US dollar and other important currencies.
Please take into account our recommendation that dealing with sanctioned Russian actors will also expose Turkish financial institutions and companies to sanctions. Many global financial institutions are concerned that their client, correspondent or affiliate relationship is at risk from Russia-related sanctions. In order to maximize the chances of these institutions continuing their relationship, the United States recommends that Turkish companies and financial institutions reflect with due diligence to their interlocutors that they are duly diligent about the risks posed by sanctions.
I strongly urge you to review the risk of doing business with sanctioned Russia-based entities, and urge you to consider these risks associated with US and other international sanctions and financial restrictions. If you have any questions about the risks your company may face, please do not hesitate to contact the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Investment Control.
Best regards Adewale Adeyemo”
WHO IS ADEYEMO?
US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Adewale (Wally) Adeyemo was born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1981. He grew up in Southern California. Adeyemo, whose father is a teacher and mother is a nurse, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004 and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 2009. He was the first president of the Obama Foundation. During the Obama administration, from 2015 to 2016, deputy national security adviser for the international economy and National Economy He served as deputy director of the Council.