Russian oligarchs are welcome in Turkey, foreign minister says

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that he would welcome Russians as both tourists and investors if they kept their business dealings within the bounds of international law.

Turkey has been in the spotlight this week with the arrival of two multimillion-dollar superyachts, reportedly belonging to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Solaris, a superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, docks at a marina in Bodrum, in southwest Turkey March 21, 2022.

With each one worth an estimated $600 million or more, Abramovich is seen stationing $1.2 billion in the non-EU country as he seeks to move his assets out of reach of U.S., U.K. and EU governments targeting Russia's wealthy elite. Turkey said it is a legitimate move if the yachts stay outside the territorial waters of the countries that sanction them.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said that any activity had to be legal.

If any Russian citizens want to visit Turkey, they can because we implement U.N.-approved sanctions. He said that Russians are coming to visit Turkey.

If it is legal and it is not against international law, I will consider it.

If it is against international law, that is a different story.

Turkey is against sanctions imposed by its NATO allies on principle. It is unlikely that the relationship will change anytime soon because of its diplomatic and economic ties to Russia.

Turkey has positioned itself as a neutral and valued mediator in the talks between Russia and Ukraine, with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently praising the country for doing everything that it can do.

The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met in the Turkish resort town of Antalya earlier in March. There were no clear results from those discussions.

In the last few months, Cavusoglu has traveled to both Russia and Ukraine for talks with both Lavrov and Kuleba, and he told reporters that there had been "rapprochement" in the positions of both sides.

Turkey has forged close ties with Russia over the years in areas like defense, energy and trade, and it also relies on tourism from the country. Ankara has sold drones to Kyiv which has angered Moscow.

Karen Gilchrist contributed to the article.