Russia's Lavrov, in Turkey, calls US sanctions policy illegitimate

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Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said on Tuesday that new US sanctions against Ankara and Moscow were an illegitimate policy and a way for the United States to obtain an unfair competitive advantage in global trade.

Lavrov was speaking at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara.

The Russian foreign minister is on a two-day visit to Ankara from August 13 to 14, where he was expected to discuss multiple issues with his Turkish counterpart including the US sanctions and Syria, among others.

At the press conference, Lavrov also said the US dollar’s role as a global currency is in decline.

"I'm confident that the grave abuse of the role of the US dollar as a global reserve currency will result over time in the weakening and demise of its role," he said.

Lavrov said Russia has been exploring for some time using national currencies to settle bilateral trade deals with Turkey and other countries.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu attend a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, August 14, 2018. /Reuters Photo

However, he did not make any commitments for Russia to drop the dollar in trade with Turkey, whose lira currency plummeted to a record low against the dollar this week.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he hoped his country and Russia could find a solution over the northern Syrian region of Idlib, a rebel-held enclave which the Syrian government says it aims to recapture.

Cavusoglu said it was important to distinguish between “terrorists,” rebel fighters and up to three million civilians in Idlib.

“We need to determine these terrorists (groups) and eliminate them with intelligence and military forces,” he said in Ankara ahead of talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, whose country has backed Assad militarily.

Idlib is controlled by an array of insurgent groups, with Sunni Muslim jihadists believed to be the dominant force there.

A general view taken with a drone shows part of the rebel-held Idlib city, Syria, June 8, 2017. /Reuters Photo

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On Friday, Trump hit Turkey hard by vowing to double the previously set tariffs of 25 percent and 10 percent on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey.

The measure, aimed at pressuring Turkey to release the US pastor Brunson, who was allegedly involved in the failed coup attempt in Turkey two years ago, went into effect on Monday.

Russia has been under a series of US sanctions since 2014 over Crimea and most recently, the Trump administration has said it will impose more sanctions on Russia following the latter's allegedly poisoning of a former Russian agent and his daughter in the UK in March.

At the press conference, the Russian Foreign Minister also addressed the issue of Syria, saying Moscow was surprised at the West's position on Syrian refugees and the conditions were there for them to start returning home.

Source(s): Reuters