Macron urges Erdoğan to fight Russian sanctions dodging

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday urged Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to “fight” Russian evasion via Turkey of Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reported.

Macron “underlined the concern of fighting any evasion of the sanctions in place,” his Elysee Palace office said after he spoke to Erdoğan by phone on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.

He added that “pressure on and isolation of Russia must be increased” to force Moscow to “give up” on its attack, the presidency said.

Erdoğan has been able to maintain relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin by refusing to join Western sanctions on Russia and ramping up bilateral trade during the war.

The Turkish leader has used his good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv to try and mediate an end to the conflict.

Turkey hosted two early rounds of peace talks and helped strike a UN-backed agreement restoring Ukrainian grain deliveries across the Black Sea.

Erdoğan has also repeatedly tried to bring Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Turkey for truce talks.

His office said that he called for a “just peace” in Ukraine in a Friday phone call with Putin.