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Reuters
Turkey PM to visit Iran, urges caution on sanctions
Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:47pm EDT
By Louis Charbonneau
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on
Saturday he would discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program with
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran next month, but urged caution
over new sanctions.
He said any attempt to impose sanctions on Tehran's gas industry --
Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves -- would be
especially problematic for its neighbor Turkey.
Erdogan was speaking to reporters after Western leaders on Friday
accused Iran of hiding a nuclear plant it is building southwest of
Tehran. U.S. President Barack Obama warned Iran it would face
"sanctions that bite" if it did not come clean.
"By the end of next month I will be visiting Iran and I will talk
about this (the Iranian nuclear program)," Erdogan said through an
interpreter.
He added that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was expected to visit
Iran on October 1 -- the same day an Iranian delegation meets the five
permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany for talks on its
nuclear program in Geneva.
Erdogan sounded a skeptical note on sanctions, saying they "won't
bring about anything good for the people (of Iran). So I think we have
to be careful."
Asked if Turkey would support fresh U.N. Security Council action
against Iran, Erdogan said: "Without seeing what would be in the
resolution, it's difficult to say. We would look at the text and we
would make our contribution and then we would make a decision."
Turkey is currently a member of the 15-nation Security Council, which
has already passed three rounds of sanctions on Iranian firms and
individuals designed to induce Tehran to halt uranium enrichment aimed
at producing nuclear fuel.
Erdogan said Turkey had told Iran it must be "transparent" with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
ERDOGAN
Ahmadinejad, who like Erdogan visited New York this week to attend the
U.N. General Assembly, sa
l and open for inspection by the IAEA.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful generation of electric
power. The United States and other Western countries suspect it is
aimed at producing nuclear weapons.
Erdogan also touched on the subject of the Nabucco gas pipeline
project. He reiterated that he would like Iranian gas to flow through
the pipeline.
Sanctioning Iranian natural gas would mean that "Nabucco will come to
a dead end," he said.
European Union countries and Turkey signed a transit deal earlier this
year for the Nabucco gas pipeline, aimed at cutting Europe's energy
dependence on Russia by supplying gas from the Caspian Sea and Middle
East.
No concrete supply deals have yet been signed for Nabucco, which plans
to pump 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe by 2014.
"When it comes to natural gas, it's of crucial importance to our
country," he said. "Our exports are quite significant."
He added that Iranian tourism in Turkey was significant and made clear
that Turkey would not like to see it curtailed. Overall, he said
Turkey's trade with Iran amounted to some $10 billion annually, $2
billion of Turkish exports to Iran and $8 billion in imports from the
Islamic Republic.
"We have to take into consideration our national interest before
taking certain decisions," Erdogan said.
(Writing by Patrick Worsnip; Editing by Sandra Maler)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Iran/id USTRE58P1KM20090926
Turkey PM to visit Iran, urges caution on sanctions
Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:47pm EDT
By Louis Charbonneau
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on
Saturday he would discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program with
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran next month, but urged caution
over new sanctions.
He said any attempt to impose sanctions on Tehran's gas industry --
Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves -- would be
especially problematic for its neighbor Turkey.
Erdogan was speaking to reporters after Western leaders on Friday
accused Iran of hiding a nuclear plant it is building southwest of
Tehran. U.S. President Barack Obama warned Iran it would face
"sanctions that bite" if it did not come clean.
"By the end of next month I will be visiting Iran and I will talk
about this (the Iranian nuclear program)," Erdogan said through an
interpreter.
He added that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was expected to visit
Iran on October 1 -- the same day an Iranian delegation meets the five
permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany for talks on its
nuclear program in Geneva.
Erdogan sounded a skeptical note on sanctions, saying they "won't
bring about anything good for the people (of Iran). So I think we have
to be careful."
Asked if Turkey would support fresh U.N. Security Council action
against Iran, Erdogan said: "Without seeing what would be in the
resolution, it's difficult to say. We would look at the text and we
would make our contribution and then we would make a decision."
Turkey is currently a member of the 15-nation Security Council, which
has already passed three rounds of sanctions on Iranian firms and
individuals designed to induce Tehran to halt uranium enrichment aimed
at producing nuclear fuel.
Erdogan said Turkey had told Iran it must be "transparent" with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
ERDOGAN
Ahmadinejad, who like Erdogan visited New York this week to attend the
U.N. General Assembly, sa
l and open for inspection by the IAEA.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful generation of electric
power. The United States and other Western countries suspect it is
aimed at producing nuclear weapons.
Erdogan also touched on the subject of the Nabucco gas pipeline
project. He reiterated that he would like Iranian gas to flow through
the pipeline.
Sanctioning Iranian natural gas would mean that "Nabucco will come to
a dead end," he said.
European Union countries and Turkey signed a transit deal earlier this
year for the Nabucco gas pipeline, aimed at cutting Europe's energy
dependence on Russia by supplying gas from the Caspian Sea and Middle
East.
No concrete supply deals have yet been signed for Nabucco, which plans
to pump 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe by 2014.
"When it comes to natural gas, it's of crucial importance to our
country," he said. "Our exports are quite significant."
He added that Iranian tourism in Turkey was significant and made clear
that Turkey would not like to see it curtailed. Overall, he said
Turkey's trade with Iran amounted to some $10 billion annually, $2
billion of Turkish exports to Iran and $8 billion in imports from the
Islamic Republic.
"We have to take into consideration our national interest before
taking certain decisions," Erdogan said.
(Writing by Patrick Worsnip; Editing by Sandra Maler)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Iran/id USTRE58P1KM20090926