Despite sanctions and tough trade barriers, there will always be those who find a loophole. Some US companies who are looking for a way to secretly trade with Russia are a good illustration of this rule. This time, they use Turkey as an intermediary country. Such schemes that allow countries to circumvent Western sanctions have long been in place in the Turkish business community. American companies that left Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine offer Turkish companies to do business together in return for a certain commission. The number of such offers has increased lately. US companies are seeking to conduct their business along the Russia-Turkey-Dubai-US route to purchase Russian goods. They have mobilized their subsidiaries located in Dubai’s free zones for this. Such Russian commodities as petrochemicals, mineral fuels, precious metals and stones, grains, iron and steel, fertilizers and inorganic chemicals, aquaculture, and spirits are especially in high demand. US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake mentioned that 5,000 US companies preparing to leave Russia gave Turkey as their corporate address. “American companies that are trying to take advantage of Turkey's warm relations with Russia also want to benefit from effective logistics capabilities of Turkish companies in the region," the official added. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal wrote about intensifying US pressure on Turkey. The Biden Administration warned Turkish businesses against cooperating with sanctioned Russian institutions and individuals. For instance, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo threatened to impose sanctions on those Turkish companies who maintained business with Russia.
