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TURKEY TO HELP IRAN RESOLVE DISPUTE WITH US?
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.02.2009 00:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iran has asked Turkey to help it resolve its 30-year
dispute with the US as a possible prelude to re-establishing ties,
the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Guardian
reports. As it is mentioned in the article, Iranian officials made
the request while George Bush was in office. Erdogan added that he
had passed the message to the White House at the time. He said he
was considering raising the matter with Barack Obama, who has said
he wants to engage with Iran at a G20 summit in London in April.
Asked if Turkey could play a mediating role in overcoming mistrust
between Washington and Tehran, Erdogan replied: "Iran does want
Turkey to play such a role. And if the United States also wants and
asks us to play this role, we are ready to do this. They said to us
that if something like this would happen, they want Turkey to play
a role. These were words that were said openly. But I have told this
to President Bush myself."
Iran and Turkey have drawn closer in recent years, helped by growing
trade links last year estimated at £5.5bn. Iran's president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, met Erdogan and the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul,
in Istanbul last August, and several Turkish officials have also
visited Iran in recent months to boost economic ties. Turkey imports
one-third of its natural gas from Iran and has signed preliminary
agreements to invest heavily in the Iranian gas industry.
The author states, that US officials have previously reacted
skeptically to Turkish proposals to mediate with Iran. However, the
idea may be given fresh consideration by the Obama administration,
which has set up a sweeping policy review policy after the president
promised to reach out if Iran "unclenched its fist".
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.02.2009 00:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iran has asked Turkey to help it resolve its 30-year
dispute with the US as a possible prelude to re-establishing ties,
the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Guardian
reports. As it is mentioned in the article, Iranian officials made
the request while George Bush was in office. Erdogan added that he
had passed the message to the White House at the time. He said he
was considering raising the matter with Barack Obama, who has said
he wants to engage with Iran at a G20 summit in London in April.
Asked if Turkey could play a mediating role in overcoming mistrust
between Washington and Tehran, Erdogan replied: "Iran does want
Turkey to play such a role. And if the United States also wants and
asks us to play this role, we are ready to do this. They said to us
that if something like this would happen, they want Turkey to play
a role. These were words that were said openly. But I have told this
to President Bush myself."
Iran and Turkey have drawn closer in recent years, helped by growing
trade links last year estimated at £5.5bn. Iran's president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, met Erdogan and the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul,
in Istanbul last August, and several Turkish officials have also
visited Iran in recent months to boost economic ties. Turkey imports
one-third of its natural gas from Iran and has signed preliminary
agreements to invest heavily in the Iranian gas industry.
The author states, that US officials have previously reacted
skeptically to Turkish proposals to mediate with Iran. However, the
idea may be given fresh consideration by the Obama administration,
which has set up a sweeping policy review policy after the president
promised to reach out if Iran "unclenched its fist".