The G7 (Group of Seven) countries are reportedly working on new sanctions to target Russian energy. New sanctions may indirectly affect Turkey as well.
It is stated that the G7 countries, consisting of seven members: Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Japan and Canada, will take new steps towards Russia’s energy exports at the summit to be held in Japan this week. Plans to tighten sanctions against Russia may also negatively affect Turkey indirectly.
New sanctions on Russian energy
It was stated that the new measures announced by the leaders during the 19-21 May meetings will aim to avoid sanctions involving third countries, and aim to undermine Russia’s future energy production and prevent trade that supports Russia’s military. US officials also expect G7 members to agree to adjust their approach to sanctions so that all exports are automatically banned, at least for certain categories of goods, unless they are on the list of approved products.
Exactly in which areas these new rules will be applied is still under discussion. The US and the EU do not have exactly the same common view. The US proposes the idea of introducing category-by-category exemptions after a total ban. The EU is not in favor of this approach. A senior German government official said, “The ‘let’s ban everything first and allow exceptions’ approach sometimes discussed won’t work for us. We want to be very, very precise and avoid unwanted side effects.” said.
Therefore, the decision to be taken at the G7 summit will be important for Russia’s energy exports. As it is known, Turkey’s energy imports approached 100 billion dollars last year. In the 12-month period ending in February, Turkey bought 39 percent of the total 53.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas it imported from Russia. Although it is thought that the sanctions will not cover third countries such as Turkey for now, the tightening of the sanctions may affect this situation. On the other hand, new sanctions may put the grain corridor allowed by Russia at risk.
