Turkish FM speaks out on sanctioning Russia over UkraineĀ 

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Ankara only supports UN-backed restrictions, Mevlut Cavusoglu saysĀ 

TĆ¼rkiye will not be joining unilateral sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over the conflict in Ukraine, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

Cavusoglu was asked how long Ankara would be able to resist pressure from the US and its allies to put restrictions on Moscow ahead of talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Indiaā€™s capital New Delhi.

ā€œWe don’t need to resist anyone, we make our own decisions as a sovereign state. We don’t join any unilateral sanctions. We support only those [restrictions that are] introduced with the backing of the UN,ā€ the foreign minister replied, as cited by the media.

ā€œItā€™s not just about Russia, but we also donā€™t support sanctions against Iran or any other country,ā€ Cavusoglu pointed out, adding that ā€œno one can put pressureā€ on TĆ¼rkiye.

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A grafitti depicting the logo of G20 Summit in New Delhi, India on February 27, 2023.
G20 foreign ministersā€™ meeting likely to end in deadlock with the bodyā€™s relevance under threat

India, which chairs the G20 this year, is hosting the summit of foreign ministers on Wednesday and Thursday.

An Indian foreign ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday that New Delhi didnā€™t want the conflict in Ukraine to dominate the discussions at the event, but acknowledged that it would likely be among the top issues on the agenda. The host nationā€™s ā€œintention [is] to continue playing the voice of the Global South [Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania] and raising issues pertinent to the region,ā€ the official said.

High-ranking Indian diplomat Vinay Kwatra told reporters that ā€œquestions relating to food, energy and fertilizer security, [and] the impact that the conflict has on these economic challenges that we faceā€ will be among those to receive ā€œdue focusā€ in New Delhi.

However, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is a stalwart supporter of Kiev, insisted that India should use the G20 gathering to ā€œmake Russia understand that this war has to finish.ā€Ā  According to Borrell, the ā€œsuccessā€ of the whole meeting ā€œwill be measured in respect to what we will be able to do on that.ā€Ā 


READ MORE: Key NATO member reacts to claims itā€™s helping Russia’s military

An EU source said separately the EU delegation in New Delhi wonā€™t support the final statement as a result of the summit if it doesnā€™t include condemnation of Russiaā€™s conduct in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

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