At the end of February, the USA significantly tightened its sanctions against Russia again. Getty Images
A Turkish oil terminal has decided to stop Russian imports due to pressure from US sanctions, according to the Reuters news agency.
The terminal in Dortyol, operated by Global Terminal Services, has decided to “cut all possible connections to Russian oil”.
This move came after the US announced 500 new sanctions against Russia in late February.
A Turkish oil terminal has stopped doing business with Russia amid expanding U.S. sanctions. As Reuters reported on Wednesday, the Dortyol terminal, operated by Global Terminal Services (GTS), announced it would no longer accept Russian products. GTS said it had decided to “sever all possible links to Russian oil.”
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Turkey is one of the countries that started buying cheap crude oil from Russia after Western sanctions came into force due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The GTS terminal alone purchased 11.74 million barrels of Russian crude in 2023, Reuters reports, citing data from Kpler.
Last year, crude oil and fuel imports from Russia increased sevenfold compared to the year before the Ukraine war. But now the expansion of US sanctions against Russia forced GTS to withdraw.
On February 23, the anniversary of the Russian invasion and after the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the US announced another 500 sanctions against the Kremlin. Many of these target individuals and companies linked to the Russian financial and defense sectors. This was the Biden administration’s largest sanctions package to date.
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According to GTS, the company has fully complied with US sanctions against Russia, including the G7 price cap. The current decision is just an “additional measure,” it told Reuters. The terminal will continue to accept Russian cargoes that were declared before the GTS ban at the end of February.
This text was translated from English by Susanne Ködel. You can find the original here.