Tag: Umit Yardim

Envoy: Turkey Not to Lose Friendly Ties with Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkey’s Ambassador to Iran Umit Yardim stressed the two countries’ resolve to maintain and boost their good relations, and stressed that Turkey attaches great importance to its ties with Iran and will keep these relations strong at any cost.

Speaking to FNA, Yardim pointed to the recent visit to Iran by Turkish Prime Minister Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and stated, “Erdogan’s visit to Iran after the meeting in Seoul had this special message that Iran is very important to Turkey.”

“Turkey may not lose its friendship with Iran at any price,” Yardim reiterated.

“Turkey and Iran are two great neighbors of each other and we have had and do have good cooperation,” the ambassador said, and added, “Leaders of the two countries are striving to continue these good relations, and we try to keep this cooperation continued.”

Also earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in a telephone conversation with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Saeed Jalili lauded the two neighboring countries’ ties as “strategic and friendly”.

During the conversation on Friday, Davutoglu praised Iran’s proposal for Iraq to hold the upcoming talks between Tehran and the six major world powers as “wise”.

He also reiterated Ankara’s Preparedness to host the negotiations.

Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari has welcomed the proposal by Tehran calling on Baghdad to host the new round of the talks between Iran and Group 5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany.)

Iran’s proposal was made during a meeting between Zebari and a high-ranking Iranian delegation, headed by Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Undersecretary Ali Baqeri and the SNSC Director-General for Arab Affairs Reza Amiri in Baghdad on Tuesday.

The last meeting between the two sides took place in Istanbul in January 2011. Iran and the G5+1 had also held two rounds of multifaceted talks in Geneva in December 2010.

via Fars News Agency :: Envoy: Turkey Not to Lose Friendly Ties with Iran.

Turkey enters no intl. deal without considering Iran ties: envoy

Tehran Times Political Desk

TEHRAN – The Turkish ambassador to Iran has said that Turkey has taken its relationship with Iran into consideration before entering into any international agreement including the 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 Umit Yardim said in an interview with the Fars news agency when asked about his judgment on the establishment of a missile defense shield in Turkey near 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 Iran-Turkey relationship and Turkey expressed its concerns in this regard,” Yardim said.

On the first day of the 2010 Lisbon summit, the heads of state of NATO agreed to establish a missile defense system that would have the capability of covering all member states.

On the reasons why Turkey took part in NATO operation against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously spoken against military intervention in Libya, Yardim said Turkey only took part in the UN humanitarian mission in Libya and did not send any forces on combat mission.

The ambassador also commented that the crisis in Libya can be resolved only through dialogue between hostile Libyan groups, adding no country should meddle in Libya’s internal affairs.

via tehran times : Turkey enters no intl. deal without considering Iran ties: envoy.