ANKARA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Turkey did not violate U.S. sanctions against Iran and "did the right thing" regardless of the outcome of an ongoing case in the United States, in which two Turkish businessmen are testifying over violating the sanctions.
"We have trade and energy ties with Iran. We did not breach the sanctions (on Iran). Whatever the verdict is, we did the right thing. We have never made commitments to the U.S. (on our energy ties with Iran)," Erdogan said at a closed-doors meeting of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Hurriyet Daily News reported.
The case that has strained ties between Ankara and Washington relates to two businessmen: Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian businessman, and Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy chief executive of Turkish lender Halkbank. Both of them are being held in the U.S. on charges of violating sanctions against Iran.
Turkish government has criticized the trial as a "theater" that targets the credibility of Turkey and President Erdogan, and called for the released of Zarrab and Atilla.
"The objective of this trial is to destroy their credibility and harm them in the eyes of the Turkish public and the world. That is clear," Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told state-run Anadolu Agency on Thursday.
