A total of more than 200.000 masks ordered by Italy from Turkish companies, have been blocked at the Ankara Customs Office for two weeks, according to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

The newspaper adds that the cost of these protective masks is 670.000 Euros and it has already been paid but the the Turkish bureaucracy is constantly demanding new documents from the Italian state in an endless chain of bureaucracy.

“On March 6, the Turkish government had promised that the matter would be resolved within two days, but nothing has been done yet”, Corriere writes, adding:

“Erdogan is blocking the influx of Euros into his country, in a political bras de fer with Europe, while the pandemic is raging”, the Milan daily underlines, explaining:

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“The money cannot be refunded because the Turkish company producing the masks has delivered them ready for shipment as agreed. At the same time, this precious means of virus protection cannot reach its recipients in Italy”.

Corriere concludes by revealing that last Tuesday there was a phone call from Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “requesting that the matter be resolved, but so far nothing has happened”.

Source: amna