Turkey Refutes Accusations Over Work of Mir Payment System in Country

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The accusations against Turkey over work of the Mir payment system in the country are unfounded, Ankara is looking for alternative ways to resolve the issue, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Friday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier he could decide on the further use of the Russian cards Mir in Turkey on Friday. Earlier in the day, the Yeni Safak newspaper reported that the United States was threatening Turkish banks with sanctions for using Russia's Mir payment system.

"There are no grounds for accusations. We cannot ban the arrival of Russian tourists. What can be the basis for sanctions? A tourist comes, pays for his food in a cafe, accommodation," Kalin said in an interview with the NTV broadcaster.

When asked whether the Mir system would operate in Turkey as before, whether there would be any changes, Kalin said that banks were considering various options.

"Banks are looking for various alternatives," he said.

On Monday, Turkish banks Ishbank and Denizbank told Sputnik that they had stopped servicing Russian cards Mir. They noted that the decision had been made in connection with US and UK sanctions against Russia. Acceptance and servicing of cards of the Mir payment system in foreign banks, in particular, in Turkish ones, will depend on the position of the credit institutions themselves, the press service of the payment system told Sputnik.