US Warns Turkey of "Consequences" Over Continued Export of Military Hardware to Russia

The US has warned Turkey of "consequences" if it fails to limit its exports of US military-linked hardware to Russia, which is crucial to Moscow's war efforts.

US Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod, who leads efforts to keep secret technology out of the hands of America's enemies, recently met with Turkish officials and leaders in Ankara and Istanbul as part of efforts to end the illegal trade.

His message to Turkey was to take stronger action to restrict the trade of American-made chips and other components that are critical to Russia's war efforts against Ukraine.

“We need Turkey to help us stop the illicit flow of US technology to Russia,” Axelrod said in a statement to the Financial Times. “We need to see progress, and quickly, by Turkish authorities and industry or we will have no choice but to impose consequences on those that evade our export controls,” he added.

Since 2022, Turkey has expanded its trade with Russia, despite sanctions imposed by the US, EU, and other Western allies.

The US is increasingly concerned that Turkey has become a crucial center for western-made electronics, such as processors, memory cards, and amplifiers, through which they are reportedly reaching Russian missiles and drones in violation of export controls. Additionally, machine tools are another significant area of concern.