The U.S. anticipates seeing a decrease in trade ties between Türkiye and Russia after Ankara agreed to stop the transit of sanctioned Western goods to Moscow, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.
James O’Brien, head of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, told Reuters that Turkish officials have been "very clear" with various governments and agencies that they have put in place a ban on the re-export of sanctioned goods to Russia.
But Washington was yet to see the impact of the change, he said.
"It will take us some time to assess it, but we will check trade data from March and April and we will expect to see this trade dropping dramatically. It's the numbers. That's all I care about," O’Brien said.
The United States and its allies imposed extensive sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but supply channels have remained open from Black Sea neighbor Türkiye and other trading hubs, including Hong Kong.
The Turkish government handed companies a list of banned foreign goods and instructed them not to transship those to Russia from March 1, the Istanbul Ferrous and Nonferrous Metals Exporters Association said last month.
The policy comes after Washington and other members of the G7 bloc of wealthy nations have worked to persuade third countries to restrict sales of items that Russia can reuse on the battlefield.
NATO alliance member Ankara has sought to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv amid the war.
It opposes the sanctions on principle but has said they will not be circumvented in Türkiye and that no shipped products can be used by Russia's military.
Several senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, have traveled to Türkiye since the invasion and have requested Turkish businesses and banks to enforce U.S. curbs on Russia.
O'Brien said Kazakhstan has also announced a policy to review and identify trade that might violate sanctions, adding Washington expects to see improvements there.
The United Arab Emirates, too, said it will reassess its trade with Russia, but has not committed to action, O'Brien said. Washington has previously said there is "poor sanctions compliance" in the United Arab Emirates.
"We're making it clear that this is of very high priority for the G7. Russia is using these goods to manufacture weapons," said O'Brien.
He added that because items are ultimately bound for the Russian military, anyone associated with the transactions in the UAE could be violating sanctions.
"So they're playing roulette with the future of their business if they continue to support this trade."
