Post by Emperor AAdmin on Feb 5, 2023 23:35:16 GMT -5
Turkish minister tells US ambassador ‘Take your dirty hands off Turkey’ as sanctions sparks fly
Story by IntelliNews • Yesterday 8:30 PM
Tensions between Ankara and Washington have flared up with the US warning Turkey about the export to Russia of chemicals, microchips and other products that can be used in Moscow's war effort in Ukraine and Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu launching an attack on the American ambassador to his country, saying: 'Take your dirty hands off of Turkey. I’m being very clear. I very well know how you would like to create strife in Turkey. Take your grinning face off from Turkey.'
Turkey’s parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for May 14 are fast approaching—angry rhetoric from the Erdogan regime, designed to nationalistically rouse its core vote, is no surprise. Nor are angry interventions from US politicians who dislike the unreliability of Turkey as a Nato ally, but at the same time stop short of anything that could irretrievably wreck relations with a country crucially located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Nevertheless, sparks are flying.
Brian Nelson, the US Treasury Department's top sanctions official, visited Turkish government and private sector officials on February 2 to urge more cooperation in disrupting the flow of goods that Russia can put to use in persisting with its war on the Ukrainians.
In a speech to bankers, reported by Reuters, Nelson said a pronounced year-long rise in exports to Russia left Turkish entities 'particularly vulnerable to reputational and sanctions risks', or lost access to G7 markets.
They should, he said, 'take extra precaution to avoid transactions related to potential dual-use technology transfers that could be used by the Russian military-industrial complex'.
'There is no surprise ... that Russia is actively looking to leverage the historic economic ties it has in Turkey,' a senior US official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters, adding: 'The question is what is the Turkish response going to be.'
www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/turkish-minister-tells-us-ambassador-take-your-dirty-hands-off-turkey-as-sanctions-sparks-fly/ar-AA178Xnd?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=689ef3861e8b4c488abeaaa497bcc73c