Shunned by US, Turkey looks for alternative oil

Turkey is in talks with Saudi Arabia and Libya to buy oil in a bid to diversify supplies, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz has said, stressing that Ankara would continue to seek exemption from U.S. sanctions on Iran. "Turkey's absence from the U.S.'s waiver list regarding the Iran issue doesn't mean it will not be included," Yildiz told reporters at an energy conference in Ankara yesterday. "Those talks are carried out on the level of companies," he added. Stressing that Turkey's security of supply was an important issue; the minister said they would not halt purchasing crude oil from Iran unless other suppliers were lined up. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to raise the issue with US President Barack Obama during a nuclear security summit in South Korea later this month.