"NATO" member - Trusted Obama buddy Turkey sticks with Iran oil after Saudi talks.

"NATO" member - Trusted Obama buddy Turkey sticks with Iran oil after Saudi.(TZ).Turkey has no plans to cut its imports of Iranian oil, remaining a rare loyal customer of Tehran despite rising pressure from international sanctions and initial signals it may buy more Saudi oil, Turkish and sources told Reuters.The sources said Ankara's intentions became clear after a high level delegation travelled to Riyadh over the weekend and decided against requesting additional supplies from top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, the only producer in the world that has spare volumes to offer to replace Iranian barrels. The development will help Iran avoid extra pain from reduced sales of crude as the European Union seeks to ban Iranian oil imports from July 1 and major Asian customers are signalling they might cut purchases under pressure from Washington. A Saudi oil ministry official said Turkish energy officials had not ask for additional oil when visiting Riyadh last week. "Turkey did not ask for more oil, and has no plans to ban imports from Iran," he said. An Ankara-based energy official said: "Turkey will continue to buy from Iran unless the United Nations supports/endorses the EU and US oil embargo".Turkey imports around 200,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran, covering 30 percent of daily domestic consumption(50% of their yearly consumption) and representing over 7 percent of Iranian oil exports, and had renewed (Read increased)its annual purchase agreement for 2012.NATO member Turkey has deepened economic and financial ties with Iran in recent years, despite Western efforts to isolate the country because they accuse it of trying to develop bombs under cover of what Tehran says is a nuclear energy programme.Hmmmm......."Obama Names Turkish PM Erdoğan Among Trusted Friends".Read the full story here.