Iran trying to convince Turkey to save Kobane

TEHRAN - Agence France-Presse

Kurds watch the fighting from a hill at the Turkish - Syrian border opposite the Syrian town of Kobane in the southeastern village of Mürşitpınar, Şanlıurfa province, on October 9, 2014. AFP Photo

Iran has begun talks with Turkey aimed at convincing it to help stop Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists from taking the key Syrian border town of Kobane, an official said Oct. 10.
      
"Iran will take any action to help the Kurdish (people) of Kobane in the framework of the support that it provides to the Syrian government to combat terrorism," Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian said, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.
      
Abdollahian said Tehran was in talks with Turkey.
      
"In our initial talks with Turkey, we found out that this country is not in favour of an aggravation of the crisis in the region and we hope that will play a positive role."       

He also said Ankara can "play the most important role to help Syrian refugees go back home."       

ISIL jihadists seized a third of Kobane Thursday in fighting that killed dozens, as calls grew for ground action to support Kobane's beleaguered Kurdish defenders.
      
But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu said after meeting the head of NATO that it was "not realistic" to expect Ankara to "lead a ground operation on its own".
     
Ankara is under pressure over its inaction, and protests in Kurdish areas of Turkey have sparked clashes that claimed at least 35 lives and forced authorities to impose a curfew in six provinces.