Iran, Turkey agree to defy US sanctions by boosting business ties

The presidents of Iran and Turkey on Friday called for further promotion of business ties between the two neighboring states in a bid to counter the effect of unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran and Ankara.

“Iran and Turkey must further boost their economic relations to counter US sanctions,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a Friday meeting with Turkish President  Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in Tehran to attend a trilateral summit on Syria with his Iranian and Russian counterparts.

Rouhani called for enhancement of banking and energy relations between the two sides, stressing that plans need to be made for resolving problems that hamper further economic cooperation.

He also underlined the necessity of using national currencies in bilateral business transactions, and called for a revision to Iran-Turkey preferential trade agreement.

Erdogan, for his part, condemned the US government’s “unacceptable and unstable” stances toward other countries, and echoed Rouhani’s call for boosting bilateral trade to defy the US sanctions.

“Iran and Turkey, under the current circumstances, must plan to develop their trade and economic relations,” he said, calling for further expansion of business ties between the two states.

“We must put more effort into developing, strengthening, and reinforcing our relations in all fields,” Erdogan noted, stressing the need for increased banking cooperation and use of national currencies in bilateral trade.

The Turkish president said earlier this week he has plans to ditch the US dollar in trade with Iran and instead use local currencies.

SS