“The Turks are demanding cheap
Iranian energy for joint production and in case we manage to reach a conclusion
with the ministry of energy, a joint town will be set up,” he told a news
conference in Tehran.
According to PressTV, Iranian officials have proposed two development
plans in East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan provinces in northwest Iran and
suggested several districts where the industrial parks are to be established,
Salehinia said.
“Given the changes which have
occurred in Turkey, we are waiting for a final word from the country’s
authorities,” he added.
Turkey is currently a key importer of Iranian natural gas, with 11
billion cubic meters shifted along the Tabriz-Ankara pipeline annually.
Turkish leaders have said the country would not cut off trade ties with
Iran at the behest of other countries after the United States demanded that all
Iranian oil buyers stop their shipments.
“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,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
has said.
President Tayyip Erdogan has also said Turkey is looking to raise the
volume of its annual trade with Iran to $30 billion from $10 billion.
Iranian central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said in September that
Iran, Turkey and Russia had agreed to remove the US dollar from their mutual
transactions.
Turkey sourced more than 50 percent of its total crude supplies from
Iran before the US imposed its second round of sanctions on Iran’s oil sector
in November.
Dependent on imports for almost all of its energy needs, Turkey is one
of the eight countries which have received US waivers to continue Iranian oil
imports until May.
On Saturday, Cavusoglu said Turkey was looking for the US to change its
mind about sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
“The Iran sanctions affect us,
but through constant efforts, we became one of the countries exempted. This was
initially done through May, but we're trying to extend the period,” he told the
Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“We’re working hard for the US
to change this decision. We’re not alone. EU members and other European
countries agree with us,” he added.
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