A branch of the Turkish public bank Halkbank, in Istanbul on September 10, 2019 (AFP/Archives/Ozan KOSE)
The three Turkish public banks that authorized the Russian Mir payment system will give it up after American warnings, a senior Turkish official told AFP on Wednesday.
“There are payments in progress, but a future date has been set” for the suspension of the Mir system, this source told AFP, on condition of anonymity and without specifying a date.
These three public banks – HalkBank, Ziraat and Vakifbank – have so far authorized transactions with Mir cards.
Two of the country’s largest private banks, Denizbank and Isbank, had already announced last week that they were suspending the use of the Mir payment system.
On Friday, Uzbekistan also announced that it had interrupted the operation of Mir bank cards for “technical” reasons, which can now only be used in a handful of countries including Belarus.
Very dependent on Russian gas and oil, Turkey refused to join the Western sanctions decreed against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. The country, a popular destination for Russian tourists, has seen the arrival of thousands of Russians since the start of the war.
She had announced to expand the scope of the Mir system after a meeting in early August between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. But Washington immediately warned Turkish companies and banks trading with Russia against the risk of possible sanctions.
© 2022 AFP
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