The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on at least four Turkey-based entities it said violated US export controls and helped Russia’s war effort, in the biggest US enforcement action in Turkey since the invasion of Ukraine last year.
The designations – including on a Turkey-based electronics company and a technology trader alleged to help transfer “dual-use” goods – were part of a global sanctions package on more than 120 entities announced by the US Treasury.
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Washington and its allies imposed extensive sanctions on Russia after its invasion, but supply channels from Black Sea neighbor Turkey and other trading hubs have remained open.
A US administration official told Reuters the sanctions targeted entities and people in Turkey’s maritime and trade sectors that were “primarily” Russia-owned or Russia-linked.
“It’s meant as a warning shot in the evolving phase of enforcing export controls,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
Turkey’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a query about the US sanctions, which came a month before landmark Turkish elections.
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv during the Ukraine war.
It opposes the Western sanctions on principle but has said they will not be circumvented in Turkey and that no shipped products can be used by Russia’s military. Last month Turkey acted to halt the transit of Western-sanctioned goods to Russia.
The US Treasury said it had designated electronics firm Azu International, which it said shipped foreign-origin computer chips to Russia. Azu’s owner could not be immediately contacted for comment.
In December, Reuters reported that Azu had exported at least $20 million worth of components to Russia, including chips made by US manufacturers, according to Russian customs records.
The Treasury also designated Dexias, an industrial products and trading company that it said acted as intermediary for a sanctioned Russian entity. It further sanctioned a unit of Dexias and a general director.
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