The United States is the reason for the prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine, while Washington has "blocked" all those who tried to find a solution", writes Aydınlık newspaper on Sunday, citing a source in the Erdogan regime's power structures.
"The Americans are trying to keep the situation pending. America is the cause of delaying the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. They are also the ones who prevented peace when it was so close," a Turkish official was quoted as saying.
Turkey used the last remaining trump card of the United States, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu recalled in a statement about talks in Istanbul last year, the Turkish newspaper writes.
Çavuşoğlu had previously made a statement on the matter and stressed: "Peace was very close to the talks in Istanbul. We were very optimistic. But at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers I realized that the conflict will continue, because some NATO members do not want it to end," he said.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who acted as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion, has said that the negotiations broke down because of Western countries.
It's all about US warnings to Turkey about trade relations with Russia
"While everything is so clear, US Treasury officials' justifications for pressuring Turkey are not convincing," the Turkish newspaper quoted the official as saying, commenting on talks held in Istanbul by the Treasury Department's Deputy Director of Economic Intelligence. of USA Brian Nelson with Turkish representatives.
The US is pressuring Turkey to stop exporting goods to Russia that Washington sees as helping Moscow continue its operations in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing people familiar with the situation. The warning was reportedly given by US officials to their counterparts at a meeting in Turkey this week.
US Deputy Treasury Secretary Brian Nelson met with Turkish officials on Thursday and Friday to discuss Washington's concerns about increased exports to Russia, including US products, the sources said.
Nelson is the third senior US Treasury official to visit Turkey in a year, stepping up pressure on Ankara to comply with US sanctions.
More EU and US visits are expected in the coming weeks on this issue, sources said. Earlier, Turkish economist Bartu Soral said that the United States is pressuring Turkey to impose sanctions against Russia.
The official spokesman of the Turkish President, Ibrahim Kalin, previously noted that Turkey does not join the sanctions against Russia, as this will hurt Ankara more than Russia.
The West has stepped up the pressure of sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. Russia has announced in the past that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and the sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people. Russia has repeatedly stated that Russia will solve all the problems that the West creates for it.
The Erdogan regime is literally "hoarding" due to economic and trade relations with Russia, since Russian products are "baptized" Turkish (even oil), filling the coffers of the Turkish elite.
The essence of Soylu's threats to the US is about the US ultimatum to cut Russian-Turkish relations, which Ankara will not do (just as it did not in the war in Syria when it sold stolen Jihadist oil), and the antagonism with the Americans is likely to expand. even in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Erdogan needs to find an "enemy" to save his life in the upcoming elections and for that he is capable of anything.
