Ankara tells Washington it won't follow new sanctions on Iran

Turkish officials last week told a visiting American delegation that it has no intention of following unilateral US sanctions on Iran, according to both sides. Turkish and American officials have confirmed that a US delegation from the Treasury and State Department visited Ankara last week to have talks at the Foreign Ministry and the Treasury Undersecretariat about US sanctions on Iran. The talks came as Turkey said it would support Turkish companies making sales to Tehran despite unilateral US sanctions that restrict trade. "They were here to discuss and explain UN sanctions and also the new US sanctions package signed into legislation by President Obama on July 1," a US Embassy official in Ankara told Reuters on Friday. The official said Turkey was one of many countries the delegation was planning to visit. Foreign Ministry officials said the delegation had offered details about the US sanctions but that Turkey's response was negative, the Anatolia news agency reported. "We told them we don't feel obliged to adhere to sanctions other than those imposed by the UN," an official said. A delegation of Turkish officials, led by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, is expected to begin talks with US officials in Washington today on a number of issues, including Iran's nuclear program.