Major Turkiye Banks to adopt Russian payments system

Türkiye president Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi earlier this week. Following his meeting with Putin, the Turkish president Erdogan said five Turkish banks adopted Russia’s Mir payments system.

Both presidents met in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. “There are serious developments regarding the work that banks in Türkiye are doing on Russia’s Mir card,” Erdogan said, according to Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu Agency. The Türkiye president said that it will bring relief for both Russian tourists and Turkey.

Erdogan said that payment in rubles will be a source for financial support for both Turkey and Russia. The central bank governors of both nations also met during the visit.

Erdogan said that partial payment in rubles will be made for natural gas deliveries during his talks with Putin.

Türkiye has voiced its opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but it did not join the US and Europe to join the sanctions. It also continues to import energy from Russia.

In 2021, Türkiye received a quarter of its crude oil imports and around 45% of its natural gas deliveries from Russia.

Russia also provided Türkiye when it needed foreign-exchange liquidity when it transferred billions of dollars to Rosatom’s Turkey-based subsidiary to complete a nuclear power plant being constructed in the Mediterranean coast.