Turkey Stops Transit Of Sanctioned Goods To Russia

This loophole for bypassing restrictive measures has been closed.

Russia may lose the largest hub for bypassing Western sanctions with its sanctioned imports. Turkey suddenly stopped the transit of sanctioned goods to Russia including parallel import channels. Kommersant FM reports this with reference to market players.

According to the sources, this freeze was a surprise for Russian companies: the customs system began to block the clearance of goods of non-Turkish origin. CEO at the Optimalog Georgy Vlastopulo said that notifications from agents that previously agreed flight bookings are being cancelled starting from Wednesday, March 8. According to him, attempts to re-register the goods ended in nothing. “The system really blocks everything,” the businessman complains.

“The system for the Turkish processing transit and export orders to Russia is not working,” Valeria Savenkova, commercial director at Transasia Logistics, confirms. According to her, it is pointless to wait for official statements or clarifications from the authorities: Turkey has never recognized the supply of sanctioned goods.

“Therefore, we can only expect information to appear through unofficial channels, let's say, in practice,” Mrs Savenkova warns.