Turkish business is “pressing” on the banking system and the government to get a simplified system of settlements in rubles for trade with Russia. Not the least role in this is played by the local tourism and hotel business, which has suffered serious financial losses due to sanctions that turned off SWIFT in Russia. Experts in the banking system say that the rapid introduction of “direct” ruble-lira operations is impossible, but there are no fundamental objections. So it is possible that at some point tourists from Russia will be able to go to Turkey with rubles, according to Russian media.
Sanctions that have shielded Russia from the SWIFT payment system are creating problems for transactions in dollars and euros. Therefore, Turkish companies are urging the authorities to allow quick operations in rubles to maintain trade with Russia. According to the newspaper Ahval, such a statement was made at the congress of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO), which was attended by Minister of Trade Mehmet Mus.
“Turkish exporters want banks to quickly convert ruble income into lira, although this is currently not possible. It is very important to implement a system that allows efficient use of rubles in payments to continue our trade with Russia, “said Erdal Bakhchivan, head of ISO. Also, according to him, it is necessary to develop a “road map in the field of logistics and financing of trade with Russia.”
According to experts, if Turkish business, including tourism, can solve this problem, tour operators will be able to directly transfer rubles to Turkish hotels, which will be converted into lira without an intermediate rate with the dollar. And tourists in Turkey will gradually begin to take rubles.