Turkey determined not to follow the US decisions on sanctioning Iran’s energy sector

Tabnak – While the United States has been trying recently to cut off Iran’s oil revenues by pressuring its costumers, Turkey reiterates its desire to continue its energy interactions with the Islamic Republic. This comes amid many ebbs and flows in Ankara’s relations with Washington.

Reuters quotes Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying that Turkey will not cut off trade ties with Iran at the behest of other countries. The statement comes after the United States told countries to cut all imports of Iranian oil.

“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 broadcaster NTV in an interview.

“Iran is a good neighbor 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.

Turkey, a NATO ally, is dependent on imports for almost all of its energy needs. In the first four months of this year, Turkey bought 3.077 million tons of crude oil from Iran, almost 55 percent of its total crude supplies, according to data from the Turkish energy watchdog (EPDK).

Iran has been Turkey's leading supplier of crude oil for most of the past two decades, ceding first place to Iraq only for three years during the recent period of US sanctions. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year said Turkey was looking to raise the volume of its annual trade with Iran to $30 billion from $10 billion.

It should be noted that Washington has told its allies to cut imports of Iranian oil by November, a senior State Department official said this week, as President Donald Trump looks to cut off funding to Iran. Trump in May said his administration was withdrawing from the “defective” 2015 nuclear deal agreed by Iran and six world powers.