Turkey does not want to impose Western-style sanctions on Russia

Ankara should not take an example from the West and impose sanctions on Russia. First of all, dialogue is needed, Turkish presidential candidate Sinan Oğan said on March 30.

          ,,We should not behave as we used – to copy everything the West does. The good of Turkey is our priority and I think we can solve our internal problems by ourselves’’, Oğan said in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency.

          In his opinion, before imposing sanctions, ,,peace must be given a chance’’. He expressed hope that it is possible to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. To undertake this, talks are needed with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

In addition, he condemned the West’s stance on the war, arguing that the approach is too one-sided and only serves to further fuel the conflict.

Oğan’s candidacy was nominated for the presidency of Turkey by the Ata İttifakı alliance. The High Electoral Commission registered him as one of the four candidates after he managed to gather the necessary 100 000 votes. The politician is a member of the Valdai think tank and a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. The presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey are scheduled for May 14.

          During a visit to Ankara by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on February 20, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish foreign minister, firmly stated that Turkey will remain neutral towards Russia. ,,We will not join the sanctions. We are following the decisions made by the UN’’, said Çavuşoğlu. In addition, he added that Ankara will not help Moscow at the same time circumvent the Western sanctions.