"Will be very bad": the US demanded from Turkey to stop supporting Hamas and Russia - WSJ
Turkey, he said, serves as a financial asylum for Hamas terrorist organization and a "shopping center" for a Russian military machine. This was reported on November 30 by The Wall Street Journal. According to US officials, despite US sanctions against Hamas financiers over the last ten years, Turkey has allowed investment and holding companies, real estate brokers and other enterprises of this group to work with Istanbul.
At the same time, trade between Turkey and Russia has increased significantly in the last year, despite the control of exports, aimed at limiting the supply of electronics and other goods necessary to support military operations in the Kremlin. "It will be very bad if any future attacks by Hamas are related to the financing or support provided through Turkey," said Brian Nelson, Deputy Minister of Finance of the United States to combat terrorism and financial intelligence.
He spoke on Wednesday in Ankara in front of Turkish officials. The Turkish government does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization, as the United States does. It distinguishes between the military and political wing of the group and doubts that financial flows from business are directly funded by weapons.
According to US officials, Russia, Turkish companies and individuals can be subjected to a number of sanctions for the supply of goods and services to Russia, which are prohibited by Western export control. "We are going to take all the necessary steps to cause these actions and we want to do so in cooperation with Turkey, but we are ready to act on our own," Nelson said. According to the publication, Nelson's visit takes place at a critical time for American-Turkish relations.
The United States want Turkey to give the final consent to Sweden's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty. The Turkish party also counts on the US approval for the sale of new F-16 fighters worth $ 20 billion for its armed forces. Turkey plays on two fronts in a conflict in Ukraine, supporting Kiev and preventing the strengthening of the Black Sea Naval Fleet of Russia, journalists write.
It supplies weapons to Ukraine and promotes exports of Ukrainian grain that is important for its economy and world food supplies. President Erdogan seeks to expand economic ties with Russia, which helps Turkey to obtain foreign currency and cheap energy during economic difficulties.
US officials say that Turkish ports are used to serve sub -Russian tankers and facilitate weapons smuggling, as well as that Russian false companies and Turkish firms contribute to increased exports of dual -purpose goods and are needed for long -term Kremlin military. According to the newspaper, the war in Israel interrupted a temporary improvement in American-Turkish relations after Erdogan has criticized the support of the Western West and the increase in the number of victims in Gas.
"Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a group of liberators and mujahides that protects its land," Erdogan said to members of his party, using the Arabic word that denotes those who fight in the name of religion. Turkish officials claim that sanctions against Russia are ineffective, but they also say that they will avoid exports to Russia, which can help the Kremlin military in Ukraine.
According to US officials, Turkey responds to the threats of Europe, blocking the flows of dual -use goods into Russia through the areas of free trade in the country. However, according to them, the goods are issued for Turkish purchases and then referred to Russia. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey has not yet commented on this situation. This week, US officials met with the management of Turkish banks at closed doors.
Turkish banks should prevent the financing of terrorism and suspected money laundering in order to maintain access to US dollar financial markets. Turkey is already on the list of countries with low standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing, which is supported by a group of financial money laundering (FATF). Analysts believe that its actions to fund Hamas and the transfer of goods to Russia may affect the vote of FATF member countries to exclude Turkey from this list.