Turkey’s Erdogan offers mediation between Obama, Iran
Published: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
14:00GMT—9:00AM/EST
TURKEY – MEDIATION – US
Washington, 12 November (IranVNC)—Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said his country is prepared to mediate between the administration of US President-elect Barack Obama and Iran, the New York Times newspaper reports.
Erdogan told the newspaper in an interview on 9 November that a message of congratulations sent by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Obama last week was “a step that has to be made use of.”
He added: “We are ready to be the mediator. I do believe we could be very useful.”
Obama has said that he is ready to break from US policy and hold direct talks with Iran on issues of concern, including Tehran’s nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building a nuclear bomb.
Tehran has said its nuclear activities have solely peaceful goals, like generating civilian nuclear power.
Erdogan said that Ankara was observing the Iran-U.S. relations “with great concern”, and added: “We expect such issues to be resolved at the table. Wars are never solutions in this age.”
He also advised Obama: “Maintain the steadiness of your spine, but don’t engage in fights.”
Turkey has suggested in the past that it could help resolve international community’s standoff with the Islamic Republic on the nuclear issue. But Iran has dismissed the possibility of Turkish mediation.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a trip to Ankara in August that Turkey’s help was not needed on the nuclear dossier because “our path is clear”.
Erdogan last month dismissed calls for his country to isolate Iran, saying that dialogue with regional neighbors is preferable, Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Turkey is currently considering a deal to produce and export natural gas from Iran, despite pressure from the U.S. and its Western allies to isolate Tehran for its defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for an end to its uranium enrichment activities.
Turkey’s Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said in October that Ankara had no plans to suspend the deal, which would expand Iran’s natural gas exports to Turkey and set rates for the transport of gas from Turkmenistan through Iran.
After Russia, Iran is Turkey’s largest provider of gas.
Sources: New York Times newspaper, Hurriyet newspaper
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