ISTANBUL // Turkey yesterday criticised the decision by the European Union to impose an import ban on Iranian oil, but Ankara is unlikely to risk irritating western partners over the issue, analysts said.
"This will raise political tensions" in the region, Ibrahim Kalin, a foreign policy adviser to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, said in a television interview. "Channels for negotiations have to remain open," Mr Kalin told AHaber.
Mr Kalin called for new negotiations about Iran's nuclear programme, which the EU and the US have said may have military purposes, a charge the Iranians deny. "The door is open," Mr Kalin said about the readiness of Turkey, the only Muslim Nato member country, to host new talks between the West and Iran in Istanbul. The last effort ended without agreement.
Turkey has been arguing that, as a direct neighbour of Iran and important buyer of Iranian oil, it has a special interest in calming tensions in a region.
"Decreasing the tension in the region is also to Turkey's benefit," a Turkish official said. "That's why we encourage everybody to find a diplomatic solution to the issue."
Ankara said it will not take part in possible military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites that are reportedly being planned by Israel, a former partner of Turkey.
The Istanbul-based Cumhuriyet newspaper reported yesterday that the Turkish military was drawing up plans to prevent Israeli fighter planes from crossing Turkish airspace if there are bombing missions to Iran. There was no official comment from the defence ministry, but a Turkish diplomat said that "every country, every air force is entitled to monitor and defend its airspace".
Taner Yildiz, Turkey's energy minister, said this month that his country was not obliged to follow sanctions by the EU or the US against Iran. "For us, decisions taken outside the United Nations are not binding," Mr Yildiz said. Turkish oil imports from Iran would continue.
As Iran supplies around a third of Turkish oil needs, a reduction of those imports could have dramatic consequences for Turkey's thriving economy. Last week, Turkey and Iran said they were aiming to raise their bilateral trade to $30 billion (Dh110bn) a year by 2015 - twice the volume of today. Much of today's trade is oil and gas from Iran to Turkey.
But days after the pledge to double bilateral trade, news reports said Turkey had begun to explore the possibility to raise oil imports from Saudi Arabia in an effort to lower its dependency on Iran. The Turkish government has not commented on the reports.
"Turkey says decisions by the US and the EU are not binding for itself, but ultimately Turkey will not side with Iran when it comes down to hard decisions," Mehmet Sahin, a Middle East specialist at Ankara's Gazi University, said yesterday.
Sercan Dogan, an analyst at the Centre for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (Orsam), an Ankara-based think tank, also argued that Turkey had little choice but to go along with western efforts to increase Iran's isolation.
"Turkey will not be able to withstand the US for long in this respect", Mr Dogan wrote in an analysis for the Orsam webpage last week.
In 2010, Turkey raised eyebrows among its western partners when it presented a joint agreement with Brazil and Iran aimed at ending the nuclear row. The agreement was swiftly rejected by the EU and the US.
Since then, Ankara has demonstrated that its Nato membership and western alliances take priority over relations with Iran. Last year, Ankara angered Tehran by giving the green light for the installation of a radar system in Anatolia that forms part of Nato's anti-missile shield.
Iran said the system's real purpose was to protect Israel against counter-strikes after a possible attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
But Turkey stood by its decision despite sharp criticism from Iran and from parts of the opposition at home.
Some observers have warned that Iran is trying to use Ankara to buy more time in its stand-off with the West.
"Iran pushes Turkey in front of the international community whenever the international community puts pressure on it", Emre Uslu, a columnist, wrote in the English-language Today's Zaman newspaper last week.
"During these periods, Iran treats Turkey as if it is its closest ally and uses Turkey both as a fence to hide behind and as a gateway to weakening the international sanctions," he wrote. A Turkish diplomat, asked for his reaction, dismissed Mr Uslu's criticism. Trying to de-escalate the situation is in Turkey's interest, he said.
tseibert@thenational.ae
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Political flags or banners
-
Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C600rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C500-4%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.9L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh119%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
