According to a new report released by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkiye (TEPAV) on 22 March, investors from Russia established over 1,300 companies in Turkiye in 2022, a 670 percent increase when compared to the previous year. This increase in investments and surge in commercial facilities by Russian nationals illustrates Turkiye as a hub for Russian capital, as well as Turkiye's neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war, as Ankara refused Washington's demands to sanction Moscow following the start of its operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The report also indicates that Moscow had taken a great interest in Ankara's real estate market, accounting for 25 percent of its foreign property purchases last year. The report highlights that Turkiye's exports to Russia increased to $9.3 billion from $5.8 billion in 2021. Not only did Russian investments in Turkiye increase, but according to financial data-providing company Refinitiv, Ankara doubled its Russian oil imports in 2022, amounting to over 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, compared to a mere 98,000 bpd in 2021. The US previously criticized Turkiye and the UAE for failing to follow through with the country's economic embargo imposed on the Russian Federation. According to a US official, the UAE has become a "country of focus" as Washington seeks to isolate Russia from the global economy, in part by increasing pressure on Abu Dhabi to sever ties with Moscow. Flights between Abu Dhabi and Moscow have continued throughout the duration of the war, while significant Russian investment continues to flow through Dubai's real estate market. According to Sputnik, Russian nationals have become the largest buying group of real estate in Dubai since the start of the war in Ukraine. In November 2022, a secret UAE-Russian meeting allegedly took place in Abu Dhabi, without the knowledge of the Kremlin, according to its spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov. The meeting, which according to Reuters, was mediated by the Gulf country without the presence of the UN, centered around a potential prisoner-swap agreement with Ukraine and Russia's use of a Ukrainian pipeline used for ammonia exports to Africa and Asia.
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