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TriitNG:
Angered by their NATO ally’s ties to Russia, American officials want Ankara to comply with their sanctions regime

Brb to give you more updates, I'm going on a short isolation

TriitNG:
American officials flew to Ankara this week to press Turkish officials and business leaders into complying with Washington’s anti-Russian sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. With Türkiye taking a neutral position on the conflict in Ukraine, the US has issued the country several warnings.

Laughing in isolation

Uprightness100:
For Unbiased reports on World news , follow on Diary section


https://www.nairaland.com/7392146/unbiased-news-russia-ukraine-world

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Led by the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, Elizabeth Rosenberg, the US delegation met the Turkish central bank governor and business groups in Ankara and Istanbul earlier this week, the report stated. Rosenberg met with local treasury officials on Wednesday for private talks, Bloomberg’s sources added.

iykofias:
Ukrainian strikes on the energy infrastructure of the Belgorod region (West Russia) cause concern for UN's office - UN's Spokeswoman for High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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Rosenberg was formerly a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a think-tank largely funded by the weapons industry. Whilst working at the Treasury during the Obama administration, she drafted sanctions on Iran, Libya, and Syria.

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The Treasury Department did not comment on the content of Rosenberg’s talks, nor did Bloomberg’s sources. However, US officials have previously expressed displeasure with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s refusal to sanction Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine, and Washington has mounted a pressure campaign against Ankara, with some results.

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Amid reports that the US and EU were considering “negative actions” against the Turkish economy, Turkish Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas assured the US in August that his country “would not allow the breaching of sanctions by any institution or person.” Then, following a warning by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control last month, all five Turkish banks handling Russia’s Mir payment cards abandoned the system.

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Erdogan has, however, continued to deepen his country’s ties to Russia. The Turkish leader has met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, four times in the past four months. Most recently, he agreed to Putin’s proposal to create an international gas transit hub in Türkiye following a meeting in Kazakhstan last week. 

Meanwhile in Russia: anger and disappointment fill the studio, as the viewers are being prepared for the loss of Kherson and other territories. Host Olga Skabeeva bitterly questions why Russia was so wrong in the beginning, believing that Zelensky would run & NATO wouldn't help. pic.twitter.com/sQpxokXDSv

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) October 19, 2022

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US may end aid to Ukraine after midterms – Axios

One face saving excuse for the US (blame it on the Republican party)

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The Biden administration says it’ll keep working with Congress to support Kiev regardless of the outcome of November’s vote

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The extensive assistance provided by Washington to Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia may be cut if the Republican Party takes control of Congress in the midterm elections on November 8, Axios has reported.

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TriitNG:
Even the harshest critics of Vladimir Putin among the Republicans now acknowledge that there’s been a “noticeable shift away from what was once a broad bipartisan consensus” on providing aid to Kiev, the outlet reported on Wednesday.

Pausing for effect

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It cited House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who told Punchbowl News earlier this week: “I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it.” Ukraine might be important, but it can’t be the only thing on the agenda of the US administration, he insisted.

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It cited House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who told Punchbowl News earlier this week: “I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it.” Ukraine might be important, but it can’t be the only thing on the agenda of the US administration, he insisted.

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Republican Congressman Don Bacon also said he’d “noticed” a decline in support for Ukraine. “You see it a little bit on social media, you see it with some of our members,” he said.

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Bacon’s colleague Kelly Armstrong told Axios that the mood swing was likely a result of the feedback that the lawmakers had been getting from their constituents. “When people are seeing a 13% increase in grocery prices; energy, utility bills doubling... if you’re a border community and you’re being overrun by migrants and fentanyl, Ukraine is the furthest thing from your mind,” he pointed out.

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Bacon’s colleague Kelly Armstrong told Axios that the mood swing was likely a result of the feedback that the lawmakers had been getting from their constituents. “When people are seeing a 13% increase in grocery prices; energy, utility bills doubling... if you’re a border community and you’re being overrun by migrants and fentanyl, Ukraine is the furthest thing from your mind,” he pointed out.

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The website also cited a senior House Republican, who claimed that “after the $40 billion [in aid package in May], there were a lot of Republicans saying: ‘This is the last time I’m going to support Ukraine funding.’” 

It's working

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In a comment to Axios, Congressman Jim Banks, who chairs the Republican Study Committee (RSC), pointed out that his party is going to focus on domestic issues after the midterms. “RSC believes you can’t lead abroad when you’re so weak at home. Our GOP agenda in the new majority needs to secure our own border and get America back on our feet by addressing energy cost and inflation,” he explained.

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Asked to comment on McCarthy’s remarks, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that the Biden administration would “continue to work with Congress, as we have these past several months, on these efforts and support Ukraine as long as it takes.” Jean-Pierre reminded that this was a “commitment” that Joe Biden made to Vladimir Zelensky.

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White House aides told Politico on Wednesday that the Biden administration hadn’t warned Kiev about the possibility of US aid coming to an end in the event that Republicans take control of at least one chamber of Congress after the election. However, officials in Kiev are aware that this may happen, they said.