ISTANBUL
Over 2,500 Turkish truck drivers have to wait at the Iran-Turkmenistan border during the four-day Muslim Feast of Sacrifice before arriving in Turkey, a senior official from the International Transporters Association of Turkey said on Friday.
Iran gives priority to its own citizens on the border, and that is why hundreds of Turkish drivers have been waiting for 15 days at Lotfabad border, Fatih Sener, Chief Executive Officer of the association said in a statement.
"We are in a difficult situation. We came here from Turkey in four days, and now it is 15 days since we began waiting here at the border," the official quoted one of the Turkish truck drivers, who could normally cross the border within three or four days.
Only 200 trucks can, per day, cross at the Lotfabad border, including 150 Iranian and 40-50 Turkish trucks, Sener explained.
Over a thousand Turkish drivers have also been waiting at Sarakhs border between Iran and Turkmenistan, missing their chances to be together with their families during the religious holiday.
Sener asked for the government's help to stop the "injustice." "Iranian drivers are not held up when crossing Turkish borders; but Iran discriminates in favor of its own citizens, making Turks wait," Sener complained.
http://aa.com.tr/en
