TURKEY OFFERS TO MEDIATE US-IRAN TALKS

Voice of America
Nov 12 2008

Turkey’s prime minister said his country is ready to mediate between
Iran and the incoming U.S. administration of Barack Obama.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara, Turkey, 11 Nov 2008 In
an interview in Wednesday’s New York Times, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
Ankara could be "very useful" in nurturing ties between Tehran and
Washington, strained over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. He said
Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad’s overture of congratulations
to Mr. Obama is "a step that has to be made use of."

Mr. Erdogan told the Times that the president-elect — who has said
he would consider breaking with long-standing U.S. policy and sit
down with Iranian leaders — offers a chance for America to reclaim
"an image that’s been lost."

Turkey has already been roiled by the war in Iraq on its border,
and the specter of conflict in neighboring Iran. Mr. Erdogan told
the Times "wars are never the solution in this age."

As a secular Islamic nation, member of both the U.N. Security Council
and NATO, Turkey, standing at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle
East, has recently tried to raise its regional profile.

Mr. Erdogan told the Times that Turkey’s principle in foreign policy
is not to earn enemies.

In the wake of the Georgian-Russian conflict in August, Ankara sought
to head up a group to resolve conflicts in the Caucasus. The government
has also been mediating talks between arch foes Syria and Israel and
re-establishing ties with Armenia.

Turkey’s foreign minister, Ali Babacan, today said he expects
developments soon in the long-running dispute with Armenia, as well
as the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The minister said he will visit Azerbaijan in the coming days. He
said his Armenian counterpart, Eduard Nalbandian, may also visit
Turkey as part of "diplomatic traffic" in the Caucasus.

Turkey sided with Azerbaijan in its dispute with Armenia over the
largely Armenian-inhabited region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The foreign ministers of the three countries met in September on the
sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.