Turkish Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati called Ankara's economic ties with Russia a "good neighborly relations," despite concerns from Western countries that Turkey is acting as a loophole to allow Moscow to evade sanctions.

According to him, "opposition elements" inside and outside Turkey are "deliberately raising question marks" about the country’s financial links with Russia. At the same time, he acknowledged the hype in its financial system and insisted that economic relations between the two countries were "legal."

"Turkey is a country that acts very carefully within the international financial system. It’s not a country that behaves in ways that will cause breaches of the international financial system," Nebati told the FT. "Everything is coming to us through legal routes.”

According to the finance minister, Turkey is pushing for a discount on the huge amount of gas it buys from Russia, which would ease pressure on the Turkish lira and strengthen President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's position ahead of important elections scheduled for next summer. Turkey is also asking Russian Gazprom for the possibility of deferring the payment. Nabati said he expects good news on both fronts.