... others, drew attention to the US Treasury Department’s warning about possible sanctions for use of the MIR system in the interests of sanctioned Russian entities. Threats from US authorities remain a significant factor for banks in friendly countries. Turkey will remain an important partner in the supply of those goods and transactions that are not yet covered by the sanctions of the United States and other initiators. The expansion of sanctions will also affect Turkish business, although the extent of this impact is still difficult to assess.
Alexander Korolev:
Marriage of Sanctions Convenience: Russia Rethinking ...
... mechanism for 6 months, the UN
noted
that the prolongation of the mechanism for such a short period creates additional organisational difficulties, including logistical ones. So, in August 2022, only four trucks crossed the border between Syria and Turkey, which was the
lowest figure since 2014
. The UN explained it by citing uncertainty regarding the renewal of Resolution 2585 in July 2022.
Deliveries of humanitarian aid across the line of contact
Ruslan Mamedov:
U.S. and EU Sanctions against Syria
One of the conditions for extending the operation of the Bab al-Hawa checkpoint was to increase the supply of humanitarian aid to the north-western regions of Syria through the line of contact (that is, from the territory controlled ...
... speculated
about al-Assad’s attempts to find an alternative to the sanctioned Russia.
Why the UAE?
Ruslan Mamedov:
U.S. and EU Sanctions against Syria
Currently, the United Arab Emirates is the only Arab Gulf nation to have been visited by President Assad ... ... renewed relationship with Damascus enables the Emiratis to more effectively deter or closely monitor the mounting influence of Turkey and Iran in Syria.
The second factor is
ideological
. The UAE’s leadership has
found
an ideological ally in President ...
... CBM prolongation, although this looks less likely in the current circumstances. What can it potentially be?
On Apr. 23 2022, Turkey closed its sky for Russia’s military and civilian aircraft heading for Syria. It did not seriously affect Moscow’s ... ... to turn a blind eye on Damascus re-establishing economic and business ties with the northeastern Syria exempted from the U.S. sanctions;
Russia is always pushing for the lift of unilateral sanctions on Syria;
Moscow might be interested in establishing ...
... otherwise known as HTS (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, associated with al-Qaeda, banned in the Russian Federation).
Humanitarian aid vs. sanctions
Igor Matveev:
Syrian Idlib: What’s Next?
According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, more than 70% of the ... ... Ankara, Washington and a number of Western countries need to extend the mechanism of cross-border operations in Idlib through Turkey. Syria itself, as well as the states supporting it, including Russia, believe that all the necessary humanitarian aid can ...
... towards Damascus. Thus, the UAE, having restored its official contacts with Syria, resumed the work of its embassy in Damascus, develop cooperation at the level of intelligence services, and outlined business projects. Now, these projects are at risk of sanctions. For the UAE, Damascus is important for several reasons, the most important of which is the regional confrontation with Turkey. An arc of instability across the Mediterranean, in which Turkey and the UAE stand on opposite sides of the barricade, is helping Damascus gain the attention of the Gulf monarchies and regain at least limited regional recognition. The latest escalation ...
... This is a question. The answer to it depends, among other things, on the paradigm of Turkish-EU relations: Will Ankara place its bets on rapprochement with the EU or will it move in the opposite direction? The latter is more likely at this point.
Anti-Turkey sanctions can affect Russia as well. US sanctions for the purchase of S-400 missiles could hurt Russian arms exports although this damage will not be big. Any EU sanctions are important in that they show how Brussels is starting to use this approach.
...
... organisations and individuals, according to the decree, was frozen, and their entry into the United States was prohibited.
Ruslan Mamedov:
Troubled Partners: What Russia and Turkey are Dividing Up in Syria
In other words, despite the limited application, sanctions against Turkey have reached a new institutional level. Now they are regulated by a separate executive order, and US departments can at any time blacklist new individuals and legal entities. Of course, the executive order is reversible. If the president does not ...
... economic cooperation and bringing it to the level of USD 100 billion, the Kremlin stays reluctant in lifting a number of major sanctions on Turkish goods, and Ankara, despite the development of bilateral dialog,
imposed
restrictions on the shipment of ... ... at the High-Level Cooperation Council on March 10, 2017. Apparently Moscow is looking forward to seeing more concessions from Turkey, and the process to normalize of state-to-state dialog is played according to the Russian script. This is perfectly tracked ...
... supplier of food products, Turkey needs to somehow sell its goods. And when direct sales are impossible, the goods move into the “shadow.” This creates additional difficulties both for supervisory bodies and business communities of Russia and Turkey. Lifting the food sanctions as fast as possible is in the best interests of both Turkey and Russia; the latter was forced, within the shortest time possible, to look for new suppliers of foods traditionally purchased from Turkey.
The statement made by the heads of state ...