Ankara will become more dependent onRussianoil and gas if sanctions are expanded to Turkeys gold for gas trade with Iran, Rifat Hisarc?kl?o?lu, chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges ofTurkey(TOBB), said Dec. 17 in Washington.Turkey insists on continuing to buy natural gas fromIranand letting the supplier convert Turkish money into gold in Turkey. Energy Minister Taner Y?ld?z said Dec. 5 thatTurkeyhad not received any new request from the United States to reduce its level of crude purchases from Iran.
In June, Washington exempted Turkey, along with six other countries, from its financial sanctions on Irans oil trade for six months in return for a 20 percent cut in Ankaras purchases.
Alternative methods
Speaking at theGermanMarshall Fund in Washington, Hisarc?kl?o?lu saidAnkarawould become more dependent onRussiain the gas and oil trade if sanctions were placed on gold for gas trade with Tehran.
A possible situation like this will create risks forTurkeyand harm the investment climate, Hisarc?kl?o?lu said, proposingTurkeyfind an alternative payment method forIranor seek energy source alternatives in Arbil or Hazar. He added that increasing tension between Arbil and Baghdad impairs the Ankara-Baghdad relationship as well.
Alternative ways for Syria
Asked about the recent developments in the Middle East, Hisarc?kl?o?lu pronounced Middle East peace as the provision of world peace and said there shouldnt be tension withIranin addition to existing problems in the region. Hisarc?kl?o?lu saidTurkeyis now using alternative ways to export goods despite the situation in Syria.
With the Syrian border closed to commercial traffic, Turkeys exporters are using alternative routes to bring goods to Middle Eastern markets and the ?skenderun-Haifa line is one of them, he said, adding that there were no problems with the economic relationship betweenIsraeland Turkey.
Commenting on the economic crisis in theEUand in the world, Hisarc?kl?o?lu said, In order to cope with the threat,Turkeyshould leap to high-income-country status from middle-income status by becoming a high-tech country.
By Hurriyet Daily News
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