Ankara does not plan to impose sanctions in Russia in order to maintain a channel for dialogue, Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told CNN Turk on Tuesday.
"We need to act based on our country’s priorities. There should be a party capable of holding talks with Russia. Who will talk with Russia if all the bridges are burned down? We don’t plan to impose sanctions so that we keep this channel open," he pointed out.
Kalin added that Ankara "does not intend to take measures that would harm" Turkey. "We maintain close relations [with Russia] in areas such as tourism, natural gas supplies and agriculture," he explained.
Besides, according to Edrogan’s spokesman, "the Montreux Convention has played a key role in maintaining peace and stability on the Black Sea." "We interpret the Montreux Convention in a way that allows us to prevent tensions from rising. We are also in consultations with the parties on this issue and we have informed everyone about it. We have so far received no requests [for the passage of warships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits]," Kalin noted.
