Auto & Transportation

Nearly a year after the Russian-Uzbekistan conflict, the United States government continued to take action to strengthen sanctions against Russia.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch, recently, the Biden government pressed Türkiye to ban Russian airlines from using US made aircraft to and from the country, which indicates that the United States is taking new actions to persuade countries to implement sanctions against Russia.

According to the export control measures of the United States against Russia, if the United States provides refueling and spare parts and other services to and from Russia and Belarus, it will face the risk of imprisonment, fines, loss of export privileges and other measures. Thea Rozman Kendler, Assistant Secretary of Commerce of the United States, conveyed this message during his visit to Türkiye last December.

This warning from the United States to Türkiye is a key test, which can show whether the United States and its allies can successfully isolate Russia for a long time, or whether Russia can find a way to continue economic activities with the help of other countries' allies. The cooperation of allies is the core element.

The Biden government imposed export controls on Russia in February last year, prohibiting any aircraft made in the United States or aircraft containing more than 25% of the United States controlled components from flying to Russia or Belarus without a license issued by the Department of Industry and Security of the United States Department of Commerce. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

The Office of Export Enforcement of the United States Department of Commerce has recently notified overseas airlines that they need to comply with U.S. export controls when providing services for commercial aircraft in Russia, Belarus and Iran.

In 2022, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce once listed the aircraft that flew to Belarus or Russia in clear violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). At present, there are 153 aircraft in the list, of which 146 are owned/operated by Russia and 7 are owned/operated by Belarus. BIS has indicated that the list may be updated in the future.

In addition to publishing and updating the list, the United States government has also taken other measures and law enforcement actions against Russian aircraft and airlines. For example, on March 1, 2022, the United States Department of Transportation and its Federal Aviation Administration issued an order prohibiting Russian aircraft and airlines from entering and using U.S. airspace. On April 7, 2022, BIS issued a temporary refusal order to deny the export privileges of the three Russian airlines, namely Russian Airlines, Blue Airlines and UTair, because it violated the EAR.

The general prohibition includes but is not limited to the prohibition on the sale, transfer, export, lease, financing, refueling, service, maintenance, repair or provision of spare parts related to the listed aircraft. According to the announcement of BIS, the provision of services related to the listed aircraft by both Americans and non-Americans is subject to the restrictions of Article 736.2 (b) (10) of the EAR, and requires the authorization of BIS, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

The United States aviation ban makes it almost impossible for these aircraft to carry out international flights outside Russia and Belarus. However, Russian Airlines continued to fly Boeing Co.'s aircraft, despite the efforts of the United States and the European Union (EU) to ground them.

According to the data of the aviation analysis company Cirium, since October 1, 2022, Russian and Belarusian airlines have used Boeing 777, 757, 737 and other US made aircraft to and from Türkiye for more than 2100 flights. These flights include regular flights from Moscow to Türkiye destinations such as Istanbul, Izmir and the Mediterranean resort city Antalya.

Most civil aircraft in Russia are manufactured by Boeing and Airbus SE, and leased from companies in Ireland and Bermuda. Last March, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law allowing airlines to re-register aircraft in Russia, making it more difficult for them to take back. According to the international aviation records, the new registration number was used last year by several aircraft operated by Air Russia to and from Türkiye.

At least one of the aircraft flying to Türkiye belonged to an Irish company, which said last year that it had stopped all leasing activities with Russia, in fact ordering the return of the aircraft. According to the data compiled by the aircraft tracking service company FlightRadar24, the last time the Boeing 757 flew to Türkiye was on January 13, landing in Antalya. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

As Türkiye is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a major tourism and transportation hub, flights to Türkiye may be subject to special international scrutiny. Istanbul Airport is one of the busiest airports in Europe and also an important transit station for Russians, because Russians cannot fly directly to the European continent and other parts of the world.

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to deepen economic relations with Russia to stabilize Türkiye's troubled economy, and also plays a unique intermediary role between Russia, Ukraine and the West. Russian immigrants and tourists have always been the main source of foreign exchange for Türkiye, and Türkiye will encounter an unstable currency crisis at the end of 2021. According to the statistical data of Türkiye government, from January to August last year, Russian tourists were the second largest tourists in Türkiye, with more than 3 million Russian tourists, up 23% year on year, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

Due to the increasingly close economic relationship between Türkiye and Russia, oligarchs have been parking yachts and planes in Türkiye and buying millions of dollars of real estate there, which has aroused Washington's vigilance, that is, Ankara is weakening the impact of sanctions. But Türkiye officials said the sanctions were invalid and Türkiye played an important role in dialogue with Russia.

Due to the control measures taken by Washington to prohibit the sale of spare parts required for the maintenance of the Russian civil aviation fleet, Russian flight safety has also caused widespread concern.