By Diyar Guldogan</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Ankara and Tehran need to prevent the U.S. sanctions from impeding the neighboring countries to reach their bilateral targets, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.</p> <p>"We must stop the U.S. sanction decision on Iran from impeding us to reach our targets," Erdogan said at the Turkey-Iran Business Forum in the Turkish capital Ankara.</p> <p>He said Turkey is ready to do its part to reach desired level of bilateral ties with Iran.</p> <p>"No one should expect us to end economic and trade relations with Iran due to the sanctions," the Turkish president added.</p> <p>Erdogan said he believes the sanctions on Iran could be transformed into an opportunity for both countries to enhance their bilateral relations.</p> <p>In August, the U.S. re-imposed a first round of sanctions that mainly targeted Iran’s banking sector.</p> <p>A second phase of sanctions — targeting Iran’s energy sector — came into effect on Nov. 5, although Washington granted a 180-day reprieve to the eight largest buyers of Iranian oil, including Turkey.

