Erdoğan told US senators that imposing embargo on Iran is wrong: Turkish FM

ANKARA

Turkey has warned the United States that the embargo imposed on Iran is a “mistake” and Washington “does not have the right” to force other countries to implement its unilateral decision, Turkish Foreign Minister has said.

“The United States may take a decision, but it’s not right to impose this decision on other countries. We will continue our principled attitude,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told state-run Anadolu Agency on July 6.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan conveyed Ankara’s stance with regard to the issue of Iran to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump and to a delegation of U.S. senators who recently visited Turkey, Çavuşoğlu added.

The minister also recalled U.S. attempts to abolish Turkey’s procurement of Russian S-400 anti-missile defense systems, saying “it is the same mindset.”

On the Syrian issue, Turkey and the U.S. are progressing in implementation of the Manbij deal, Çavuşoğlu said, and “it is now time for joint patrolling and entering into the city center.”

Elaborating on the ongoing Manbij deal with the U.S., which aims to clear of Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the northwestern Syrian city, Çavuşoğlu saidthat the group will withdraw “and the U.S. will collect the American weapons from the YPG.”

The minister said they will implement the same Manbij model to other areas east of the Euphrates River, which he said is part of the agreement with the U.S.

“The people of Kobane should not worry, as they are oppressed by the YPG,” he said, referring to the future of the Syrian town, adding that the new regime will be “in line with its predominantly Kurdish demography.”

Çavuşoğlu said Ankara wants to “keep up momentum of cooperation” on other issues such as the issue of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and the fight against terror, adding that the two sides will hold a working group meeting on these issues on July 13 in Ankara.

Turkey demands the U.S. to extradite FETÖ leader Fethullah Gülen, who is widely believed to have masterminded the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Turkey to reopen consulates in Basra and Mosul

Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu also said Turkey will resume its diplomatic missions in both the Basra and Mosul provinces of Iraq, which have been shut for years due to security threats. Basra will be the first consulate to be opened, he noted.

Turkey closed its consulate in Mosul in 2014, shortly after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) captured the city and attacked the mission on June 11, kidnapping 48 people including the Turkish consul.

Austria not likely to take a radical decision on Turkey

Meanwhile, Çavuşoğlu also touched on the stance of Austria, the new term president of the European Union, saying Ankara does not expect Vienna to take “a radical decision” on the case of Turkey because other EU members will not allow this.

He also noted that Austria recently kicked off new work on legislation, similar to the legislation in Germany, that bans the use of PKK symbols. The law is likely to go to the Austrian Parliament in the fall, he added.