Turkey stops fueling Russian aircraft

Turkey has stopped providing services to aircraft made in the U.S. and flying under the flag of Russia and Belarus / Shutterstock

Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade has prohibited the country’s airports from providing fuel and maintenance to aircraft from Russia and Belarus, according to the Airport Haber edition.

«Rendering of any services for aircraft produced in the U.S. and controlled by Russia or Belarus must be stopped,» the edition reported.

Moreover, under the new rule, Turkish airports can no longer provide fuel and other services to private, cargo, commercial and charter aircraft with 25% of American content on their way to Russia or Belarus.

However, the Association of Tour Operators in Russia says that the Turkish list of prohibited aircraft includes 30 specific planes, not all of the country’s Boeing and Airbus planes. As a result, Russian tour operators collaborating with Turkey haven’t yet changed their plans for the summer.

Kommersant, a well-known business newspaper in Russia, reported that Russian airlines said they know about the problem and are trying to figure it out. At the same time, they said that there were no official notifications from Turkish authorities or partners. Many of these companies have confirmed that they are operating as usual under their flight schedules.

In December 2022, the E.U. adopted the 9th package of sanctions against Russia that effectively prohibited the export to Russia of dual-use goods and technologies, including electronics and IT equipment, chemical and neuroparalytic substances, unmanned aerial vehicles, night vision goggles, and radio navigation equipment.

Last year, Turkey refused to support sanctions against Russia due to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, the country said that it won’t let Russia use its territory to breach international sanctions.

On February 24, 2022, Russia started the war on Ukraine. President Putin recognized the independence of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (the international community and Kazakhstan haven’t recognized these republics). At the time, Putin said that Russia wants to «demilitarize» and «denazify» Ukraine.