“Measures approved by the UN Security Council are binding for all, and not implementing them is out of the question,” a senior Turkish diplomat told journalists on Friday. “But decisions on additional sanctions are unilateral, and we are not bound to follow them even if it is our allies who make those decisions.”EU leaders endorsed sanctions that go beyond those approved during a vote on June 10 by the UN Security Council. The EU decision, made on June 17, was followed by a vote on Thursday in the US House of Representatives to impose tough new unilateral sanctions aimed at squeezing Iran’s energy and banking sectors.
Turkey, along with Brazil, voted against the sanctions at the UN Security Council, which came weeks after the two brokered a deal with Iran under which Tehran agreed to transfer 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for uranium enriched by Russia and France to higher levels to be delivered in a year. Turkey said the deal could pave the way for negotiations on more difficult issues such as Iranian plans to go ahead with enrichment but failed to convince the US, which insists the deal was too little, too late.
The no vote at the Security Council “disappointed” the US, but Turkey and Brazil insist they acted under clear guidelines given by President Barack Obama. Many in Turkey see the conflict as a result of an internal rift within the US administration, between those who say Obama’s policy of engagement should be maintained and those who believe the US should get tough with Iran at a time when the congressional midterm elections in autumn are approaching.
Turkish policy-makers are concerned that sanctions could radicalize Iran, a dangerous development that could result in Iran destabilizing Iraq, Lebanon and even Afghanistan, places where the US has critical security interests. They say the nuclear deal signed in May in Tehran could reverse this vicious circle by increasing confidence between the Islamic republic and the West.
The official also expressed frustration with the US for not discussing the terms of sanctions with Turkey beforehand and then expecting Turkey to follow its policy of sanctions once it was ready for the vote. In addition, he termed it “a matter of credibility” for Turkey to vote against the sanctions since it had brokered a deal with Tehran only a few weeks before aimed at finding a peaceful way to resolve the dispute and thus circumvent the sanctions.
Diplomacy
