US sanctions Turkish firms for alleged aid to Russia

US sanctions Turkish firms for alleged aid to Russia
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Updated 15 September 2023
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US sanctions Turkish firms for alleged aid to Russia

US sanctions Turkish firms for alleged aid to Russia
  • Ankara ‘taking a number of steps to seek convergence with West, while neither alienating nor strengthening Moscow,’ analyst tells Arab News
  • The designations specifically target shipping and trade entities alleged to have played a role in the repair of sanctioned vessels associated with Russia’s Defense Ministry

ANKARA: President Joe Biden announced on Thursday the imposition of sanctions on five Turkish companies and a Turkish national.
The move comes amid accusations they helped Russia in evading Western sanctions and provided support to Moscow in its ongoing war in Ukraine.
It is part of a broader set of sanctions targeting over 150 Russian-supporting entities and individuals, hindering the Russian military as well as the country’s industrial base, construction sector, financial sector, oil and gas industry, technology supply and maritime sector.
The designations specifically target shipping and trade entities alleged to have played a role in the repair of sanctioned vessels associated with Russia’s Defense Ministry and in facilitating the transfer of dual-use goods.
Among the sanctioned firms, construction and foreign trade company Margiana Insaat Dis Ticaret faces allegations of facilitating covert deliveries to sanctioned Russian entities entrenched in the military drone production supply chain. Informatics and trade company Demirci Bilisim Ticaret Sanayi finds itself under scrutiny for purportedly dispatching sensors and measuring tools to Russia.

The direction of the US-Turkiye relationship this year will be determined by the developments regarding F-16 sales by the US to Ankara and Turkish ratification of Sweden’s NATO bid.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Analyst

Also on the list is Denkar Ship Construction, a company embroiled in allegations of providing repair services to vessels linked to the Russian Defense Ministry. Similarly, shipyard agency ID Ship Agency and its owner, Ilker Dogruyol, have been sanctioned for their suspected involvement in similar activities.
CTL Ltd. finds itself accused of shipping US and European-origin electronic components to companies in Russia.
The Turkish government did not release any official statement about the designations.
This decision, however, came amid a sensitive juncture in US-Turkiye relations, with Washington closely watching Ankara’s potential ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership application when the Turkish parliament reconvenes in early October.
At the July NATO summit in Lithuania, Ankara agreed to forward Sweden’s bid to join NATO for a ratification vote, while Turkiye made it clear that it was waiting for Stockholm to fulfil its commitments about counterterrorism efforts.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the sanctions imposed on Thursday would not derail Sweden’s accession bid to join NATO.
“We continue to work with them to communicate that NATO accession is important for Sweden, it should happen as soon as possible, and we take President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s assurances that it will happen at great value,” he said.
The US and its allies imposed extensive sanctions on Russia after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but supply channels from Black Sea neighbor Turkiye and other trading hubs have remained open, prompting Washington to frequently issue warnings about the export of chemicals, microchips and other products that can be used in Moscow’s war effort.
Rich Outzen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and Jamestown Foundation, said: “These individual/entity sanctions differ greatly from state sanctions on state targets; they are less about geopolitics or bilateral relations and more about ‘grey’ business actions.
“Clearly no government likes to have businesses run by its nationals listed, but it is an order of magnitude below sanctioning state entities or coercive diplomacy per se,” he told Arab News.
Outzen expects muted reaction from Ankara given the shared interest in not helping Russia, with Turkiye strongly supporting Ukraine’s defense.
This is not closely connected to the dealing over Swedish NATO accession or the transfer of US F-16 jets to Turkiye, he said.
Ankara “is taking a number of steps to seek convergence with the West, while neither alienating nor strengthening Russia. That particular balancing act does not generally change in response to micro-events like a commercial sanction,” Outzen said.
“Failure of the F-16 fighter jets deal and/or Sweden’s accession process are more dangerous in that regard,” he added.
A concerted effort to discourage the Turkish private sector from assisting Russia in circumventing US sanctions has been also underway since more than a year.
This has included the visits of several high-level US officials, including Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, to Turkiye in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, forming part of a pressure campaign to deter such activities.
For Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the sanctions in question concern only a limited number of Turkish companies and nationals helping Russia circumvent sanctions on the import of dual-use products particularly from Europe, and as such they have neither political implications nor economic consequences for Turkiye.
“There is a tacit understanding between the US and Turkiye that such trade should be prevented,” he told Arab News.
According to Unluhisarcikli, the direction of the US-Turkiye relationship this year will be determined by the developments regarding F-16 sales by the US to Ankara and Turkish ratification of Sweden’s NATO bid.
Erdogan and Biden had a short meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in India where they reportedly talked about F-16s.
Ankara requested the fighter jets and their modernization kits back in October 2021, but the $6 billion deal is still pending the approval of Congress.


Turkiye’s growing military exports to Russia prompt US scrutiny, urgent diplomatic visit

Turkiye’s growing military exports to Russia prompt US scrutiny, urgent diplomatic visit
Updated 9 sec ago
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Turkiye’s growing military exports to Russia prompt US scrutiny, urgent diplomatic visit

Turkiye’s growing military exports to Russia prompt US scrutiny, urgent diplomatic visit
  • US Treasury officials have been concerned that Turkiye’s export of products to Russia could serve both commercial and military purposes
  • US has imposed sanctions on Turkish electronics supplier, Azint Elektronik, over its alleged shipping of high-priority goods, such as electronic integrated circuits, to Russia

ANKARA: Turkiye has found itself under heightened US scrutiny over a rise in the export of potentially sanctions-busting goods to Russia.

US Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson was this week due in Ankara and Istanbul to follow up on American fears that Turkiye could inadvertently be fueling Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Nelson, making his second visit to Turkiye this year, will investigate trade activities that may unintentionally be aiding Russia’s war efforts through third-party exports.

He was expected to hold talks with Turkish officials on preventive measures to curb the flow of dual-use goods that could indirectly benefit Russia’s military pursuits.

In a statement on its website, the US Department of the Treasury said: “In Turkiye, a NATO ally, undersecretary Nelson will also discuss efforts to prevent, disrupt, and investigate trade and financial activity that benefit the Russian effort in its war against Ukraine.”

During the first nine months of this year, Turkiye has seen record exports of 45 goods, valued at 158 million euros ($173 million), to Moscow and five ex-Soviet nations — Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The figure represents a threefold increase on the same period at the start of the Ukraine conflict.

Among the exported items were microchips classified as “high priority” by Washington.

US officials revealed instances where dual-use parts ostensibly bound for intermediary nations were, in fact, reaching Russia directly. For example, while Kazakhstan reported imports of high-priority goods from Turkiye valued at $6.1 million, Turkish official data revealed exports to Kazakhstan reaching a record $66 million during the same period.

Western assessments have indicated that some high-priority goods from Turkiye have been applied to the production of drones, helicopters, and cruise missiles.

Turkiye has strong trade and diplomatic ties with Moscow, but US Treasury officials have been recently concerned about the country’s export of products to Russia that could serve both commercial and military purposes.

Ankara has not formally joined Western sanctions against Russia for fear of damaging the Turkish economy. However, the US recently imposed sanctions on Turkish electronics supplier, Azint Elektronik, over its alleged shipping of high-priority goods, such as electronic integrated circuits, to Russia.

Rich Outzen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Arab News: “Maintaining non-military trade with Russia remains an integral part of Turkish economic diplomacy.”

Five Turkish companies were among firms faced with American sanctions in September for dispatching sensors and measuring tools to Russia, providing repair services to vessels linked to the Russian Defense Ministry, and shipping electronic components of US and European origin to Russian firms.

Outzen noted that private Turkish companies could well fall foul of US sanctions over their exports to Russia while government entities may escape them unless there was clear evidence of a coordinating role.

Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and chairman of the Istanbul-based think tank EDAM, told Arab News: “The visit of Nelson will also be an opportunity for the US to iterate its concerns about the ongoing trade.

“There are a number of product groups that are under the radar of US and EU authorities where Turkiye is expected to do more in terms of curtailing trade with Russia.

“Turkish authorities will indeed take on board these concerns and examine more closely trade with Russia on these products in concern.

“Also, given that ultimately the total affected exports are around $158 million, while some of them are re-exported products, there is little value-added that remains in Turkiye, which is not a reason why Turkish authorities should actually heed the concerns of its partners in the West,” Ulgen said.

Nelson’s visit to Turkiye comes as the country continued its long-standing efforts to procure F-16 fighter jets from the US, or alternatively, source Eurofighters.

“Especially at this moment, when Turkiye tries to normalize its ties, Ankara would not want to be affected by additional sanctions from the West, even though they essentially target companies and individuals that are party to this trade.

“This visit would be an opportunity for both parties to essentially seek a convergence on trade policies with Russia,” Ulgen added.

The trade volume between Turkiye and Russia was this year expected to exceed $65 billion. It surged in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the heightened sanctions regime of the West against Moscow.

Last year, Russia was Turkiye’s main import partner with goods valued at $58.85 billion, a threefold increase on the same period in 2021.


Erdogan tells UN chief Israel must be tried in international courts for Gaza crimes

Erdogan tells UN chief Israel must be tried in international courts for Gaza crimes
Updated 8 min 17 sec ago
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Erdogan tells UN chief Israel must be tried in international courts for Gaza crimes

Erdogan tells UN chief Israel must be tried in international courts for Gaza crimes
  • Erdogan and Guterres discussed the “expectations of the international community regarding Israel’s unlawful attacks”
  • “During the call, President Erdogan said Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, the laws of war,” the Turkish presidency said

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday told United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres that Israel must be held accountable in international courts for what he called war crimes it committed in Gaza, the Turkish presidency said.
Israel has mounted an offensive by air and ground against Hamas militants in Gaza in which more than 15,000 people have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
The offensive was launched after Hamas went on a rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking 240 hostage.
In a phone call ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza planned for Wednesday, Erdogan and Guterres discussed the “expectations of the international community regarding Israel’s unlawful attacks,” access of humanitarian aid into the enclave, and efforts for a lasting peace, the Turkish presidency said.
“During the call, President Erdogan said Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, the laws of war, and international humanitarian law by looking in the eyes of the international community, and it must be held accountable for the crimes it committed in front of international law,” it said in a statement.
Turkiye’s foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would attend the UN Security Council meeting in New York.
In a statement, it added that Fidan would hold also meet his counterparts as part of a so-called contact group of some Muslim countries, formed by the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) this month to discuss Gaza with Western powers and others.
Turkiye has harshly criticized Israel’s attacks on Gaza and called for an immediate cease-fire to allow for discussions over a two-state solution to the wider Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Erdogan has called the Israeli attacks on Gaza a genocide and accused Israel of being a “teror state.” Israel rejects such charges and say it is acting in self-defense against a foe bent on it destruction.
Turkiye also hosts some members of Hamas, which it does not consider a terrorist group, unlike the United States, European Union, and some Gulf countries. It has accused the West, apart from Spain and Belgium, of complicity due to their support of Israel.


Another Yemeni prisoner dies in Houthi detention, fourth in month

Another Yemeni prisoner dies in Houthi detention, fourth in month
Updated 38 min 2 sec ago
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Another Yemeni prisoner dies in Houthi detention, fourth in month

Another Yemeni prisoner dies in Houthi detention, fourth in month
  • Houthis requested that the family of Yanouf Hassan Ali Al-Batenah collect his remains without providing details regarding the cause of death
  • Al-Batenah, a soldier of the Yemeni army’s 7th Military Region, was seized by the Houthis in Nov. 2020 while fighting with Yemeni government troops in Mas, Marib province

AL-MUKALLA: A Yemeni government soldier has died of torture inside a Houthi detention facility in Sanaa, the fourth confirmed prisoner dying as a result of torture in less than a month, Yemeni government officials and activists said.

The Houthis recently requested that the family of Yanouf Hassan Ali Al-Batenah collect his remains without providing details regarding the cause of death.

Al-Batenah, a soldier of the Yemeni army’s 7th Military Region, was seized by the Houthis in November 2020 while fighting with Yemeni government troops in the Mas area in the province of Marib.

For three years, the Houthis had forcefully disappeared the Yemeni soldier and refused his family’s repeated requests to see him or learn his location.

Yemeni human rights advocates and authorities reported that the 26-year-old soldier was mercilessly tortured to death in a notorious Houthi intelligence jail in Sanaa.

Al-Batenah’s death occurred only days after the Houthis said that Yemeni government soldier Mohammed Ahmed Wahban, who was captured by the Houthis during the same fight in Mas, committed suicide inside the military prison in Sanaa by hanging himself.

Yemeni activists, citing a Houthi death sentence against him, contradicted the Houthis’ assertions, saying that the Houthis brutally tortured and murdered Wahban.

Two more inmates have died within Houthi detentions since late last month, including a Yemeni citizen working for the international organization Save the Children.

The Houthis repeatedly rejected pleas from Save the Children, local and international rights organizations, and foreign envoys in Yemen to provide explanations for the deaths of captives in their hands.

Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani said on Monday that 350 inmates died of abuse within Houthi detention facilities out of 1,635 recorded cases of torture since 2015 and that the Houthis maintain 237 official jails and another 128 hidden prisons throughout territories under their control.

“We reaffirm our request to the International Committee of the Red Cross and international and local human rights groups to launch an open inquiry into the crimes of murder and torture committed by Houthi militia in detention facilities,” the Yemeni minister said on X.

Meanwhile, a delegation of EU ambassadors to Yemen completed their visit to Yemen’s temporary capital, Aden, on Tuesday by expressing their support for the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government’s efforts to improve revenues and combat corruption.

“They praised the government’s work aimed at raising revenue and stabilizing the economy, continuing implementing reforms and improving service delivery under extremely challenging circumstances in a very complex regional context,” the EU ambassadors to Yemen said in a joint statement.


Jordan explores feasibility of green hydrogen projects

Jordan explores feasibility of green hydrogen projects
Updated 28 November 2023
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Jordan explores feasibility of green hydrogen projects

Jordan explores feasibility of green hydrogen projects
  • MoU focused on annual production of 180,000 tons of green ammonia

AMMAN: Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday with Ahmad Saleh, the chairman of Mass Group Holding, to conduct feasibility studies into the development of green hydrogen projects in Jordan, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Kharabsheh said that the memorandum focused on annual production of 180,000 tons of green ammonia. Once the preliminary studies are completed, and depending on the results, the ministry is to construct a framework agreement to lead to the final investment deal for the project.

Kharabsheh said that it was the ministry’s eighth agreement of its kind regarding the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia, and highlighted the importance of forming partnerships with the private sector.

He expressed optimism about Jordan becoming a regional and global hub for hydrogen production and export, as envisioned by the ministry and the energy sector.

The minister reaffirmed the commitment of the ministry and the sector to streamlining the green hydrogen investment process. He spoke of the importance of the opportunity for both Jordan and investors.

Kharabsheh said that the memorandum was consistent with the government’s efforts to harness significant renewable energy resources, and Jordan’s strategic location in the region, in line with the country’s Economic Modernization Vision for 2023-2033.
 


In Gaza, little solace in truce as people endure grief and deprivation

In Gaza, little solace in truce as people endure grief and deprivation
Updated 28 November 2023
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In Gaza, little solace in truce as people endure grief and deprivation

In Gaza, little solace in truce as people endure grief and deprivation
  • “The struggle for water happens daily, since we were first displaced until now,” said Rami Al-Rizek
  • Now in its fifth day, the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has allowed an increased number of aid trucks to enter Gaza from Egypt

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: Carting heavy cans of water through muddy streets, searching mounds of rubble for clothes, mourning lost relatives and homes — Gazans reprieved from Israeli bombardment during the truce with Hamas were still facing the daily hardships of war.
At a water station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, people filled plastic containers and lugged them to homes or shelters using carts pulled by donkeys or by hand, bicycles, a shopping trolley, a wheelbarrow, even a wheelchair.
“The struggle for water happens daily, since we were first displaced until now. Even during the cease-fire, they didn’t find a solution to the water problem,” said Rami Al-Rizek, displaced with his family from their home in Gaza City.
Now in its fifth day, the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has allowed an increased number of aid trucks to enter Gaza from Egypt, but the humanitarian needs are so immense that many Gazans have felt little or no impact.
“Whether there is a truce or not, we still have no electricity, no water, and none of life’s basic necessities,” said Muath Hamdan, another man waiting at the water station.
It had rained, and a steady stream of children and adults trudged through mud and puddles in sandals and flip flops on their way to the water station. The quest for water was the main activity that could be seen on the streets.
In a different area of Khan Younis, Maryam Abu Rjaileh had returned to her home, reduced to rubble by an Israeli air strike, to search for clothes for her children. The family are now sheltering at a school, in a classroom shared with many others.
“We see our homes getting destroyed, our dreams getting destroyed, we see the efforts we put into our homes all destroyed,” said Abu Rjaileh.
“How can I describe our situation? They gave us a four-day truce, what are these four days? We come here, feel sorry for ourselves and turn back.”

PAINFUL MEMORIES
In another part of town, Yasser Abu Shamaleh paced over the pile of debris that used to be a block where many of his relatives lived. He said more than 30 of them had been killed — his parents, sisters and brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins.
“Two things made me come to this area. First, my cousin is still under the rubble and no-one has been able to get him out. Second, my painful memories,” he said.
Abu Shamaleh, who said he survived because he, his wife and their five children live in a different building, picked up chunks of concrete and tossed them aside. A rag doll could be seen in the rubble.
“As much as you try to retrieve things, it’s useless. We need machinery and tools to get things out,” he said.
“The truce is the time to lift the rubble and search for all the missing people and bury them. We honor the dead by burying them. What use is the truce if the bodies remain under the rubble?” he said.
The war began when militants from Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, rampaged through southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, including babies and children, and seizing about 240 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel responded with aerial bombardment and a ground assault on Gaza, killing more than 15,000 people, around 40 percent of them children, according to Gazan health officials.
Another Khan Younis resident, Ahmed Al-Najjar, said of the truce: “Four days are not enough, and forty days are not enough, and four years will not be enough to get over the pain.”