| We do not need Turkish mediation: Ahmadinejad |
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ANKARA - While Turkey earlier voiced its willingness to act as a mediator between Iran and the United States, the Iranian president says his country does not need Turkish mediation. The Turkish president, who is on a visit to Tehran, says both Tehran and Washington have the good will to improve ties, adding that Turkey has responsibilities on the issue
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday Iran did not need Turkey's mediation for a solution to its dispute with the United States.
"We don't need Turkey's mediation," he was quoted as saying in Tehran by the private channel NTV.
His remarks came amid the high running speculation that Ankara may act as mediator between Washington and Tehran. Turkey's President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan flew to Tehran to attend an economy summit after a landmark visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Ankara over the weekend.
Asked if Turkey could play a mediator role, Turkish President Abdullah Gül said Turkey's "invaluable work" was recognized by everyone. He said Turkey was a neighbor of Iran and an ally to the West, adding that a country in such a position would bear a number of responsibilities that cannot be limited to a narrow frame.
Cengiz Çandar, columnist for Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review accompanying the president on his Tehran visit, said Gül did not use the word "mediation" but his statements revealed that Ankara would encourage resuming contacts between Tehran and Washington.
Turkey has said it would weigh any requests by both Iran and the United States to serve as a mediator between the two sides. The Unites States and Iran have not had diplomatic ties for three decades and are now embroiled in a row over Tehran's nuclear program. The West suspects Iran of trying to build a nuclear bomb under guise of a peaceful atomic energy program, a charge Tehran rejects.
For his part, Gül has expressed optimism that ties between the United States and Iran will improve, as both countries are willing for better relations.
"What I have seen is that both the Iranians and the Americans are well-intentionedÉ Of course an iceberg will not thaw all of a sudden," President Gül was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency yesterday.
Gül met his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Tuesday and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. "An atmosphere of confidence can be created with behavior that shows that you are sincere," he told reporters after his meetings.
The world entered a new process in international politics and relations after the presidential election in the United States, Gül said. "The former U.S. administration was applying a method and style in which it was making unilateral decisions, implementing them unilaterally when necessary, and imposing its views when necessary," he said.
He said the new U.S. management was pursuing a very different method from the previous one, and defined the Obama administration as one that said and showed that it would listen to everyone, be multi-lateral, get recommendations from every one, and establish dialogue for a solution to problems.
Israel visit not clear yet
In response to a question about a possible visit to Israel, which was scheduled for January but was later postponed, Gül said: "It is not scheduled. We had the intention but after the Gaza incident that visit became impossible." But he added that he could visit Israel and the Palestinian territory if necessary circumstances were created but that was not under consideration for the time being.
Gül also welcomed the planned visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to Turkey from April 6-7. "If we lay the rails well at the beginning, then we can go a long distance on those rails," he said. The president was also scheduled to meet with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. Çandar wrote that Gül touched on Turkish-Armenian ties, which are linked with progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. |
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