Turkey is trying to convince the United States to allow refiner Tupras, its biggest oil importer, to continue buying crude oil from Iran free of sanctions, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said on Friday.
Last year, Washington announced sanctions against buyers of Iranian oil, granting eight countries, including Turkey, waivers for six months. It said on Monday it will not renew those waivers and demanded that buyers stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.
Iran is one of the biggest oil suppliers for Turkey, which is almost completely reliant on imports to meet its energy needs.
The US decision damages regional cooperation and Turkey’s trade relations, Aksoy said during a press conference on Friday.
“Tupras is following the subject closely. The characteristics of their refineries are suitable for Iranian oil. We are trying to convince the US,” he said, responding to a question about whether the refiner will continue buying crude oil from Iran.
Ties between the NATO allies have been strained lately over Turkey’s push to purchase Russian S-400 missile systems, which Washington says could compromise its F-35 fighter jets, and over differences in policy in Syria.
Ankara has proposed the creation of a working group to assess the impact of the S-400 on NATO systems. The United States has not yet responded to that proposal, Aksoy said on Friday.
Via: Reuters
Six major European countries announced on Friday that they would join a special trade exchange designed to alleviate the impact of the US sanctions on Iran. Belgium, Denmark, Finland,...
China, Iran to forge closer ties due to common threat from United States, analysts say
French minister criticises US over ‘unanswered’ Iran attacks
Islam has the best argument in support of human rights: Judiciary chief
UN adopts eight resolutions in condemnation of Israeli crimes in Palestine
Trump’s maximum pressure policy on Iran has backfired and experts say it will fail
S. Korea’s exports of humanitarian goods to Iran effectively halted after U.S. sanctions
Copyright © 2013 Real Iran. powered by Wordpress.