The US ambassador to Turkey has said the United States and Turkey share the same strategic goals with respect to what he calls “the most sensitive topic” between the two allies, Iran.
Francis J. Ricciardone told the Anatolia news agency ahead of a business meeting with American companies in İstanbul that the US and Turkey have shared interests and the same strategic goals in the region but that “naturally, we sometimes have different views,” when he was asked to comment on Turkey’s role in its region and whether this role is compatible with the Turkish-US strategic partnership. “This is very natural. Turkey is in this region. We are afar,” the ambassador said in remarks published on Monday.
Ricciardone said both countries are reluctant to see Iran developing a nuclear weapon and added that both Turkey and the US agreed that Iran has the right to possess peaceful nuclear energy once it meets necessary international obligations. The ambassador said Turkey and the US are largely on the same page on ways to persuade Iran to comply with its international commitments and that the fundamental agreement between the two countries is that diplomacy, if not the only tool, is the best one to deal with the Iranian nuclear standoff.
Ricciardone hailed a partnership between Turkey and the US on strategic, political and defense levels as exemplary and said the importance of Turkey’s NATO membership for the US and the alliance has been evident during his three-months as ambassador. He pointed to Turkey’s influence in shaping discussions at NATO regarding its policy in Libya, adding that the two allies are in close consultations beyond the scope of NATO with respect to developments in the region and constantly continue to have high-level meetings.
Ricciardone said Turkey has made great progress since the 1970s and praised the strength of Turkish companies in competing globally. He said there is now a great interest in Turkey among US businessmen in investment and trade and said the challenge that needs to be overcome now is transforming this interest into actual trade and investment.
He recalled the Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation that was launched by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Barack Obama in December 2009 to hear the voices of Turkish and American business circles and said the sides might gather this June.
Meanwhile, the Turkish ambassador to Iran has said Turkey takes its ties with Iran into consideration before entering into any international agreement, including any NATO agreement on the establishment of a ballistic missile defense shield in Turkey.
“In any political process, when we are weighing up options, we certainly take account of our relationship with Iran,” Ambassador to Tehran Umit Yardim said in an interview with the Fars News Agency when asked to comment on the possible establishment of a missile defense shield in Turkey near the border with Iran.
“It is completely a technical issue. During the Lisbon summit, Turkey transparently expressed its views on the issue. In this process, the most important matter is the Iran-Turkey relationship and Turkey expressed its concerns in this regard,” Yardım said.
via Ricciardone: US, Turkey share same strategic goals on Iran.