News 360 11 December 2022 - by Daniel Stewart
BRUSSELS, (DPA/EP) The European Union expressed concern Sunday that Turkey will maintain a close partnership with Russia despite the war in Ukraine and tough Western sanctions against Moscow.
Deepening economic ties between Turkey and Russia are "cause for great concern," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said in a letter to the EU Parliament, Funke Media Group reported Sunday.
Also of concern is Turkey's continued policy of "not joining the EU's restrictive measures against Russia," he has argued in the letter.
Borrell has pointed out, according to this information, that the EU and Turkey form a customs union, which guarantees the free movement of goods, which includes "dual-use" goods, goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. "It was important that Turkey did not offer Russia any solution to the sanctions," Borrell has warned.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts over the weekend to discuss "strengthening" a UN-sponsored Black Sea grain corridor agreement.
The phone calls with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodimir Zelenski come amid lingering problems with the July deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, that allows Ukrainian grain exports through a Black Sea corridor.
