Ankara, 2 April (Argus) — US and EU sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme are not sustainable indefinitely and a normalisation in relations is inevitable, Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz said today.
Neighbouring Iran provides about 20pc of Turkey's gas needs and about half of its crude oil imports. While Turkey's sole refiner Tupras is reducing its purchases of Iranian crude in response to US sanctions, winning exemption from US financial measures, Turkey will continue taking Iranian gas and oil, Yildiz said.
The importance of Iranian supplies mean that a “compromise would be better for Turkey,” he said.
Turkey has tried to facilitate talks between western powers and Iran on the country's plans to develop nuclear technology and in 2010 helped to broker a plan to swap enriched nuclear material that was eventually rejected by the US as insufficient.
On Iraq, Yildiz reiterated that Turkey will only consider a new cross-border pipeline with Iraq once the existing line from Kirkuk to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan reaches full capacity utilisation.
The twin pipeline is running at one third of its annual capacity of about 70mn ton/yr, Yildiz said. “If it is not renewed and if it proves insufficient, then we are open to new projects,” he said, adding that Turkey would be happy to work with the Baghdad government on planned improvements to the Iraqi pipeline network that would allow oil from the south of the country to be exported north to Ceyhan.
Turkey is juggling its need for good relations with the Baghdad government with its desire for access to oil and gas resources in the semi-autonomous north of Iraq. Baghdad says only it can negotiate international energy agreements and says bilateral deals reached with the Kurdish Regional Government in the north are invalid.
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