Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 29 / Trend A.Tagiyeva /
Turkey is negotiating with the U.S. government on new Iranian sanctions, because current sanctions run contrary to Turkish interests, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said to Cihan agency on Thursday.
"Turkey respects the EU sanctions against Iran in the energy sector and tries to follow them. However, the use of unilateral sanctions by one country [the U.S.] against another country do not commit us to anything," Yildiz said.
The U.S. Senate will consider new sanctions aimed at reducing global trade with Iran in the fields of energy, shipping, and metal. Sanctions may restrict the export and import of precious metals to Iran.
Previously, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said that due to international sanctions, Iran can not be paid in foreign currency for the export of gas to Turkey, so the country has to pay for it with gold.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, in the second quarter of 2012, gold exports from Turkey to Iran stood at $4.8 billion compared to one billion dollars in the first quarter.
Turkey annually imports eight million tons of oil and eight billion cubic meters of gas from Iran.