Turkey Welcomes EU’s Mechanism for Trade with Iran

TEHRAN (defapress) – Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hailed the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), the European Union’s special financial mechanism for trade with Iran, as a positive step.

News ID: 75331

Date: 01 February 2019 - 17:48

Speaking to reporters in the Romanian capital of Bucharest on Friday, Cavusoglu pointed to US sanctions against Iran and said Turkey believes that dialogue and closer cooperation will resolve these problems, the Turkish-language Anadolu Agency reported.

Such sanctions have negative impacts not only on Iran but also on Europe and other countries around the world, he added.

Therefore, Turkey regards Europe’s steps to counter the United States’ stance as positive, the Turkish top diplomat noted.

Britain, France and Germany on Thursday issued a joint statement on the creation of the INSTEX that will allow trade between the EU and Iran without relying on direct financial transactions.

The European Union has vowed to counter US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.

The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.

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