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Thu Oct 21, 2010 12:26AM
US Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey
US Treasury's point man on sanctions, Stuart Levey, has traveled to Turkey in a bid to pressure Iran's neighbor into "cooperation" on sanction against Tehran.
Washington's undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence on Wednesday met with banking sector leaders and representatives of private industry in Istanbul, a statement from the US embassy in Ankara said.
Levey will then fly to the Turkish capital on Thursday to meet officials from the country's foreign ministry and finance ministry.
As promoted during his trip to Iran's other neighbor, Azerbaijan, Levey will try to sway Turkey into scaling down trade with the Islamic Republic.
While the US possesses and has used nuclear weapons in the past, Washington, in a politically-motivated move, is imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons nor does it seek to develop such weapons.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan on Wednesday expressed doubt that recent anti-Iran sanctions will force Iran into change its nuclear policy.
"I think it's a reality that the sanctions are putting more and more pressure on the Iranian economy," Ali Babacan said in Washington on Wednesday.
"But is it getting any possible results about making the Iranians take steps that the P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the US plus Germany -- expect? I have big doubts about it," AFP quoted him as saying.
Turkey, which is a temporary member of the UN Security Council, has an over 400 kilometers-long border with Iran and voted against the latest round of US-engineered UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic in June.
Earlier in October, Turkish President Abdullah Gul voiced Ankara's determination to boost trade ties with Iran, despite the US pressure to halt trade with the Islamic Republic.
Addressing the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gul urged the Turkish businessmen to improve the country's trade with Iran.
"Those who do not know may be annoyed by our trade ties with Iran, but Turkey-Iran trade is important to us," Turkey's Zaman newspaper quoted Gul as saying in the northeastern city.
Turkish State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafar Caglayan has also said that Ankara will not allow unilateral US sanctions imposed against Iran over its nuclear program hamper business with the oil-rich country.
"Turkey will act in line with UN decisions. But decisions made by the United States on its own do not bind us," he said.
MT/MGH
PressTV - US point man on Iran mission in Turkey
US Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey
US Treasury's point man on sanctions, Stuart Levey, has traveled to Turkey in a bid to pressure Iran's neighbor into "cooperation" on sanction against Tehran.
Washington's undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence on Wednesday met with banking sector leaders and representatives of private industry in Istanbul, a statement from the US embassy in Ankara said.
Levey will then fly to the Turkish capital on Thursday to meet officials from the country's foreign ministry and finance ministry.
As promoted during his trip to Iran's other neighbor, Azerbaijan, Levey will try to sway Turkey into scaling down trade with the Islamic Republic.
While the US possesses and has used nuclear weapons in the past, Washington, in a politically-motivated move, is imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons nor does it seek to develop such weapons.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan on Wednesday expressed doubt that recent anti-Iran sanctions will force Iran into change its nuclear policy.
"I think it's a reality that the sanctions are putting more and more pressure on the Iranian economy," Ali Babacan said in Washington on Wednesday.
"But is it getting any possible results about making the Iranians take steps that the P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the US plus Germany -- expect? I have big doubts about it," AFP quoted him as saying.
Turkey, which is a temporary member of the UN Security Council, has an over 400 kilometers-long border with Iran and voted against the latest round of US-engineered UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic in June.
Earlier in October, Turkish President Abdullah Gul voiced Ankara's determination to boost trade ties with Iran, despite the US pressure to halt trade with the Islamic Republic.
Addressing the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gul urged the Turkish businessmen to improve the country's trade with Iran.
"Those who do not know may be annoyed by our trade ties with Iran, but Turkey-Iran trade is important to us," Turkey's Zaman newspaper quoted Gul as saying in the northeastern city.
Turkish State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafar Caglayan has also said that Ankara will not allow unilateral US sanctions imposed against Iran over its nuclear program hamper business with the oil-rich country.
"Turkey will act in line with UN decisions. But decisions made by the United States on its own do not bind us," he said.
MT/MGH
PressTV - US point man on Iran mission in Turkey
