Turkey stays loyal to Tehran, does not plan to cut oil imports

Published time: February 15, 2012 07:38
Edited time: February 15, 2012 12:15
A picture released by the Iranian President's website shows Iran's first offshore oil platform in the Caspian Sea. (AFP Photo / Iranian Presidency)

Turkey has no plans to consider alternative oil suppliers, and will continue to import fuel from Iran. Ankara officials disapprove of the EU and US embargo against Tehran, which they see as ‘Western economic bullying.’

Ankara will remain a rare loyal customer of Tehran “unless the UN endorses the EU and US oil embargo," Turkish and Saudi sources told Reuters. The prospects of United Nations supporting the oil embargo seem improbable as Russia and China, who have a veto power, insist on peaceful resolution of the conflict. China is also being the largest buyer of Iranian crude.

Turkey’s loyalty will help Iran to avoid major losses from reduced sales of crude after the European Union banned Iranian oil imports from July 2012. Major Asian customers are likely to follow under pressure from Washington.

The decision came after a Turkish delegation travelled to the Saudi capital Riyadh over the weekend and decided against requesting additional supplies from the country. Saudi Arabia is the only producer in the world with spare volume on offer to replace Iranian production.

In January, the two largest buyers of Iranian oil, China and India, have also tried to protect themselves from US sanctions targeting countries that trade with Iran. India has confirmed it is going to pay for Iranian oil with gold, not dollars, and China might follow that example one way or another.

India and China needed to switch from the dollar in bilateral trade, since the US and EU have issued unilateral sanctions against the Iranian oil industry and financial institutions. The sanctions would ban any bank involved in oil trading with Iran from dealing with American and European counterparts.

Meanwhile, in a bid to bypass economic restrictions Iran has turned to bartering, trading gold bullion and oil for vital food imports, reports Reuters. New financial sanctions have hurt Tehran’s ability to import basic staples for its population of 74 million, commodities traders said.

The EU adopted the oil embargo on January 23. It immediately banned new oil deals with Iran and implemented a total boycott of Iranian oil from July 2012. The EU embargo followed tough US sanctions approved earlier last month. Taken together, they remove 2.6 million barrels of oil from international markets.

Western leaders insist Iran is on a dangerous path towards acquiring nuclear weapons and demand it halts its program. Tehran consistently denies such ambitions, saying its nuclear intentions are civilian, not military.

Comments (23)

liveinashoe 16.02.2012 05:14

 To El Jefe So you wonder what it would be like to live in a repressive auth oritarian dictatorship, or a religious dictatorship? You should check out the United States.Obviously&nbs p;you know nothing about The never ending wars one after another all over the planet.The repression of minorities, woman and the poor. You can disappear in the US just as well as any place else.I think it amazing that you don't know the Americans help put these dictators into power and the CIA taught them the torture techniq ues.I'm Canadian and I see it every dayTheir poison has crossed the boarder and is up here.Now the religious&n bsp;fanatics wanna tell everyone how to live .Now we must cut funding for schools, hospitals, the old and sick so we have enough money for second rate  fighter jets and ships and subs ect.ect. and the US is the only country that has ever tried to evade u s. The US is a war mongering fanatical money grubbing crazy cult.Where do you live and where do you get your information ?
BTW, CNN is a joke RT is much more balanced
 &n bsp;

+3

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Chuck (unregistered) 16.02.2012 02:07

Will Turkey trade in GOLD and SILVER for Iran's OIL??   That is what I want to know!!

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A.Smith 16.02.2012 01:59

Turkey has been playing both sides of the US/Israeli armed,funded and equipped Kurdish PKK Terrorists for over 20 years now.

Sometime s that didn't end well for Turkey when the same terrorists settled ancient revenge scores with Turkish civilians along the Iranian-Turkish borders. And when Turkey began baulking at Israeli demands for more and more, reportedly the Mossad targeted the Turkish PM for assassination during a visit to Jordan which failed, then executed 11 Turks at point blank range to their heads on the Turkish passenger ship among the Gaza Peace Flotilla.

As Turkey is a NATO partner, they are the wild card in invoking the NATO Charter should Syria attack Turkey or of course US/Israel creates a False-Flag attack blamed on Syria to invoke the NATO Charter.

And where was the NATO Charter invocation on Israel when Israel attacked and murdered NATO citizens on a civilian passenger ship in International Waters?

Turke y is playing both sides of the conflict to bolster themselves as the premier Arabic powerplayer in the M.E. however EVERYTIME a Arabic Nation has allied and helped USA/Israel they have been severely burned for doing so and Turkey is likely no exception. Should the Kurdish Terrorists succeed in carving up Syria into portions to include a new Kurdish homeland, those same Kruds will relentlessly attack Turkey thereafter.

I seriously question whatever loyality Turkey has to Iran much less the Turkish people. Turkey has opened the door to the utterly evil corruption of the US State Dept and sooner rather than later will likely pay an extremely high price for selling their soul to the devil herself.

+13

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