Washington demands that Turkey stops allowing flights from Russia

Washington is putting pressure on Ankara to stop the practice of allowing flight arrivals and servicing flights of Russian airlines on American-made aircraft, according to The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, January 26, citing sources.

As detailed in the article, U.S. officials last month threatened Turkey with, among other things, imprisonment, fines, and the removal of export privileges for violating export controls that were introduced in 2022, as reported by ria.ru.

Among the activities that Washington wants to stop are services including refuelling and the replacement of spare parts for American-made aircraft that fly to Russia and Belarus.

According to media reports, in December last year, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Thea Roseman Kendler conveyed Washington’s position to Turkish officials.

The publication believes that this situation will demonstrate whether the US and its allies can succeed in the long-term isolation of Russia or whether it will continue economic activity with the help of third countries.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Western countries imposed tough sanctions against Moscow. Under attack, among others, was the civil aviation sector. Thus, the EU banned the supply of civil aircraft and spare parts to Russia and also obliged all lessors to terminate contracts with Russian airlines.

Aircraft maintenance and insurance services were also banned, while the European Union, the United States, Canada, and a number of other countries, closed the skies for Russian aircraft, to which Russia gave a mirror response.