ISTANBUL, December 10. /TASS/. The US sanctions policy towards Russia creates risks for Turkey's energy security, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexey Yerkhov said speaking at the visiting session of the Roscongress Foundation in Istanbul.
"Turkish companies from the real sector of the economy are more and more frequently becoming subject to restrictions, which causes significant damage to the local economy. Washington's latest step was adding Gazprombank, the main payment agent in the Russian-Turkish trade in natural gas, to the sanctions list. Let me remind you that Russia's share in the gas consumed in Turkey exceeds 40%. In this context, the actions of the United States pose direct risks to Turkey's energy security, especially given the upcoming winter heating season," the ambassador said.
According to him, the sanctions are extraterritorial in nature and affect the foreign trade partners of Moscow through secondary restrictions.
"The restrictions have a negative impact on the level of business interaction between our countries, causing problems in the area of bank transfers and logistics, he said.
The diplomat recalled that the US authorities regularly include Turkish individuals and companies to the sanctions lists, who in their opinion maintain business relations with counterparties from Russia to the sanctions lists.
According to Yerkhov, in the current situation, Russia and Turkey have a chance to develop new, more effective forms and methods of interaction.
"In this context, the events of the Roscongress Foundation can become an effective platform for developing joint actions and strengthening mutually beneficial partnership," he added. The ambassador reiterated that Russia is Turkey's leading business partner.
"The Russian Federation plays an important role in terms of solving domestic economic problems," the diplomat said. He drew attention to the fact that this year, due to a number of factors, a decrease in bilateral trade has been noted, and in the segment of Turkish exports to Russia, the decrease is most noticeable.