Turkey vows to keep Iran ties despite US pressures
Tehran (KNA) - Turkey says it remains determined to maintain trade ties with Iran in an apparent defiance against a purported plan by the US to urge all nations to cut imports of Iranian oil from November.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted by media as saying that Ankara would not cut off trade ties with Iran "at the behest of other countries" in a clear reference to the US.
"If the United States' decisions are aimed at peace and stability, then we'll support them, but we don't have to follow every decision. Being allies doesn't mean following every decision word for word," Cavusoglu told the Turkish broadcaster NTV in an interview."
Iran is a good neighbour and we have economic ties. We are not going to cut off our trade ties with Iran because other countries told us so."Earlier, Turkey's economy minister had emphasized that Washington's demand to stop purchasing oil from Iran will not be binding for Ankara.
Nihat Zeybekci told reporters on Wednesday that Turkey would only respect measures announced by the United Nations toward its eastern neighbor. "The decisions taken by the United States on this issue are not binding for us. Of course, we will follow the United Nations on its decision. Other than this, we will only follow our own national interests.
In addition, we will pay attention so our friend Iran will not face any unfair actions," Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci told reporters on Wednesday.
Source: PressTV