ANKARA, April 26. /TASS/. Turkey is not obliged to comply with the sanctions imposed on Russia by third countries or associations in which Ankara does not take part, Ahmed Kamil Erozan, deputy chairman for foreign policy of the opposition IYI Parti (Good Party), said in an interview with TASS on Wednesday.
"Turkey is part of the West, but based on our own principles, our country is not bound to abide by any decisions made by international organizations in which it is not involved in the decision-making process. The sanctions were imposed by the EU, 27 or 28 countries sat down for talks and decided everything, but we were not there. The future of Turkish-Russian joint projects does not depend on others’ expectations, but it does depend on our national decisions and new negotiations, which might be needed [to implement new projects]," he said.
Erozan pointed out that "Turkey cannot simply go along with what others have decided to do."
"We are not EU members, so we are not bound by their mechanism for adopting sanctions resolutions. Should we join the EU someday in the future, we will definitely have to comply then. However, amid the current conditions and given our regional situation, we act in a different way and we have to act that way," he said.