French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire shakes hands with Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak before a meeting at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, France, August 27, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey wants to take it relations with the European Union to a new phase in a period when its trade with the bloc is more important, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference with his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire in Paris, Albayrak said recent unilateral steps taken by the United States had shown that relations between Turkey and the EU, namely France, were more important than ever.

Albayrak also said France and Turkey shared the same position against the one-sided decisions by the United States regarding Iran, and that the allies had decided to take joint steps in this regard.