ID :
29871
Thu, 11/13/2008 - 00:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/29871
The shortlink copeid
Turkey PM wants to mediate between new US adm and Iran
United Nations, Nov 12 (PTI) Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to mediate between the new Obama administration and Iran, using its increasing role in the Middle East to bridge the divide between East and West.
In an interview with the New York Times published Wednesday, Erdogan said Obama's election as President of the U.S. has opened new opportunities for a shift in relations between America and Turkey's neighbour Iran.
Obama had said during his election campaign that he would
consider holding talks with Iran, something the Bush administration has long opposed.
The Turkey P.M. termed the note of congratulations sent to Obama last week by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as "a step that has to be made use of".
"We are ready to be the mediator," Erdogan told the paper, ahead of a visit to the U.S. to attend G-20 meeting in Washington on global economic crisis. "I do believe we could be very useful."
The U.S. and Iran have troubled relations over Tehran's nuclear programme. Washington, backed by its western supporters, wants Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment programme which it suspects is geared towards making a nuclear weapon. However, Tehran has always maintained that the programme is only for peaceful purposes.
"We watch the relations between Iran and U.S. with great
concern," Erdogan said. "We expect such issues to be resolved
at the table. Wars are never solutions in this age."
Turkey, notes the Times, fears an economically and
politically isolated Iran, which supplies it with energy. It
also wants to avoid another military conflict on its borders.
"They are deathly afraid of what might come," an unidentified
Western official was quoted as saying. "They don't want a
repeat of Iraq."
Turkey, the Times says, argues that it is uniquely
positioned to facilitate talks between Washington and Tehran.
It is a N.A.T.O. member and also secured a non-permanent seat
in the U.N. Security Council last month. It is a Muslim
country that has renewed relations with its Middle East
neighbours in recent years and scored a success this year by
bringing Israel and Syria together for talks that had been
frozen for years, the report adds.
But Western officials, the paper said, are skeptical that
Turkey, a member of the Western alliance, could succeed as an
impartial moderator between Washington and Tehran.
Turkey's relationship with Iran is complex — the two
nations have energy and cultural ties but vie for political
influence in the region. And despite the "Islamic tint" of
Erdogan's government, Iran has deep ideological differences
with Turkey, which is constitutionally secular, the paper
said.
"They know that being a mediator between the West and
Iran is really risky," the Western official told the Times.
"It's going to put them in the wrong place. Still, with a new
American administration, and a president-elect who has
expressed his intent to make broad changes in foreign policy,
there might be opportunities. PTI
In an interview with the New York Times published Wednesday, Erdogan said Obama's election as President of the U.S. has opened new opportunities for a shift in relations between America and Turkey's neighbour Iran.
Obama had said during his election campaign that he would
consider holding talks with Iran, something the Bush administration has long opposed.
The Turkey P.M. termed the note of congratulations sent to Obama last week by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as "a step that has to be made use of".
"We are ready to be the mediator," Erdogan told the paper, ahead of a visit to the U.S. to attend G-20 meeting in Washington on global economic crisis. "I do believe we could be very useful."
The U.S. and Iran have troubled relations over Tehran's nuclear programme. Washington, backed by its western supporters, wants Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment programme which it suspects is geared towards making a nuclear weapon. However, Tehran has always maintained that the programme is only for peaceful purposes.
"We watch the relations between Iran and U.S. with great
concern," Erdogan said. "We expect such issues to be resolved
at the table. Wars are never solutions in this age."
Turkey, notes the Times, fears an economically and
politically isolated Iran, which supplies it with energy. It
also wants to avoid another military conflict on its borders.
"They are deathly afraid of what might come," an unidentified
Western official was quoted as saying. "They don't want a
repeat of Iraq."
Turkey, the Times says, argues that it is uniquely
positioned to facilitate talks between Washington and Tehran.
It is a N.A.T.O. member and also secured a non-permanent seat
in the U.N. Security Council last month. It is a Muslim
country that has renewed relations with its Middle East
neighbours in recent years and scored a success this year by
bringing Israel and Syria together for talks that had been
frozen for years, the report adds.
But Western officials, the paper said, are skeptical that
Turkey, a member of the Western alliance, could succeed as an
impartial moderator between Washington and Tehran.
Turkey's relationship with Iran is complex — the two
nations have energy and cultural ties but vie for political
influence in the region. And despite the "Islamic tint" of
Erdogan's government, Iran has deep ideological differences
with Turkey, which is constitutionally secular, the paper
said.
"They know that being a mediator between the West and
Iran is really risky," the Western official told the Times.
"It's going to put them in the wrong place. Still, with a new
American administration, and a president-elect who has
expressed his intent to make broad changes in foreign policy,
there might be opportunities. PTI
