Turkey's ambiguous application of United Nations' sanctions on Russia

The arrival of vessels belonging to millionaire Roman Abramovich is adding to suspicions that Turkey could become a refuge for sanctioned oligarchs and their wealth. 

Despite Abramovich being targeted by sanctions by both the European Union and Britain, Turkey has so far refused to penalize Russians.

There are reports in the Turkish media that Abramovich plans to use Turkey as a base, or planning to buy a Turkish football team. Abramovich invested heavily in London's Chelsea soccer club before British authorities seized control after the oligarch was placed on a sanctioned list.

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Timothy Ash of Bluejay Asset Management says Turkey will face growing scrutiny from its Western allies. 

"There has been some focus on reflagging Russian aircraft as Turkish aircraft. There are strong trading and banking relationships between Russia and Turkey. Some media attention on a lot of Russians trying to set up new bank accounts in Turkey, presumably to try to get around some of the problems they are probably encountering," Ash told RFI. 

"There has also been concern that Russian companies and entities trying to export or trade with Russia are repackaging themselves as Turkish entities," Ash continues.

"I would imagine western governments, including the US, will be talking with their Turkish counterparts and trying to encourage them not to break sanctions. But there is a recognition of Turkey's relatively weak financial position," he concluded.  

Iran case

"There is a lot of news, unsubstantiated in my view, that oligarchs are parking their money in Turkey," analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners told RFI. 

"Turkey has extensive business links, no matter how you define it, with Russia," added Yesilada. "A lot of people hoped that Turkey would become a proxy financial center or intermediary for Russia. I wouldn't put it past the current regime to try to repeat the Reza Zarrab incident - 40 billion dollars of money whitewashed to Iran," he continued. 

Reza Zarrab is a Turkish-Iranian businessman who pleaded guilty in 2017 in a New York court to massive charges of violating sanctions against Iran. A senior executive of the Turkish state-owned investment bank Halkbank was convicted and jailed under the same investigation. Halkbank itself is also facing trial on Iranian sanction busting charges. 

Ankara insists it is fulfilling its international obligations in enforcing United Nations sanctions.

"If you mean whether these oligarchs can do any business in Turkey, then of course, if it is legal and not against international law, I will consider it," said Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Peace brokering

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argues that financial and economic measures against Moscow are counterproductive.

Erdogan claims his country's refusal to join sanctions enables it to be an honest broker in efforts to end the Ukraine conflict. The Turkish President has close ties with both his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, having hosted three days of talks between the warring parties in late March.   

The Dutch Prime Minister Paul Rutte recently visited Ankara, becoming the fourth European leader to travel to Turkey since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Rutte appeared to play down any concerns over Turkey's opposition to Russian sanctions at a joint press conference. 

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 "Yes, of course, we would very much favor for Turkey to implement all the sanctions, but I think we also have to be happy with the fact that Turkey is playing now its diplomatic role and its leadership role in trying to end the conflict," said Rutte.

With Erdogan appearing to play a prominent role in peace efforts, analysts say Turkey is likely to get - at least in public - the benefit of the doubt over its stance on sanctions.

Some analysts say that means more Russian superyachts and their owners could be heading to Turkish marinas earlier than usual, ahead of the traditional summer season.