Turkey calls for lifting of sanctions off Venezuela, Iran
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The global energy crisis can be alleviated with the lifting of sanctions, according to Ankara.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
Turkey said the lifting of Western sanctions on countries including Iran and Venezuela would ease the global energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine.
Both Venezuela and Iran have been dealing with sanctions that have targeted many of their industries, including oil and gas. It's worth noting that Tehran has the world's second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia. However, it lacks the necessary infrastructure to increase exports.
"The entire world needs Venezuela's oil and natural gas... On the other side, there have been embargoes on the Iranian oil," said Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister.
Read next: In defiance of US sanctions, Venezuela to manufacture 4 Iranian cars
"Remove these sanctions... if you want the prices to drop, remove the embargoes on the countries that will offer their products to the market," he added. "You cannot solve the problem by threatening a country."
On Thursday, US officials, in talks with their Turkish counterparts, addressed compliance with financial sanctions imposed on Russia regarding the war in Ukraine as the latest move to pressure Turkey to take a tougher stance on Russia.
Turkey has been attempting a balancing act with good ties with Russia and Ukraine. Turkey, after the war, has been deepening its economic and trade ties with Russia, prompting Western worries. In June, Deputy US Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo visited Turkey to warn Ankara against doing business with Russia.
Previously, Turkey has condemned Russia's war in Ukraine and spoke out against the referendums in the four regions. On Tuesday, Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency, confirmed that the talks were underway about postponing Turkey's energy payments to Russia until 2024 were "ongoing."
