Turkish envoy says unilateral sanctions illegitimate
Turkish envoy says unilateral sanctions illegitimate

Reza Hakan Takin, Turkish Ambassador to Iran, said on Sunday that unilateral sanctions against Iran are illegitimate and have no benefit for anybody. “The stance of Turkey is quite clear; we consider unilateral sanctions as illegitimate and of no benefit [to anyone],” said Reza Hakan Takin, Turkish Ambassador to Iran, on Sunday. He made the […]

Reza Hakan Takin, Turkish Ambassador to Iran, said on Sunday that unilateral sanctions against Iran are illegitimate and have no benefit for anybody.

“The stance of Turkey is quite clear; we consider unilateral sanctions as illegitimate and of no benefit [to anyone],” said Reza Hakan Takin, Turkish Ambassador to Iran, on Sunday.

He made the remarks at a press conference on the anniversary of a failed military coup in July 2016 to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“So far, we have received no official message imposing Americans’ will on us telling Turkey what to do about Iran,” added the Turkish diplomat in Tehran.

“We are waiting for a visit of an American delegation to Turkey in the near future to express their demand. They have already announced their approach publicly,” he stated.

“We are fully aware that Americans are willing to undertake measures in all areas of economy to cause troubles for Iran, but on the other hand, we see some contradictions in American officials’ remarks,” reiterated the Turkish envoy to Tehran.

“For example, once they said that that they want to reduce Iran’s oil revenues to zero and then they said that they may consider some exemptions,” underlined Mr. Hakan Takin.

“After officially meeting with American delegation we will find out what they want but Turkey’s policy is quite known to everybody and has been announced at the highest levels that we see unilateral sanctions as illegitimate and non-beneficial,” he added.

“We are not a country to make our decisions and policies based on the will of others’, be it US or any other country,” asserted the Turkish diplomat.

“In the past years that severe sanctions were imposed on Tehran, Turkey aligned with Iran. Iran is an important country for us and we have broad economic relations with each other. Besides, we have extensive cooperation with Iran in areas of politics, military, and security and we share a lot of common interests with Iran,” he added.