No strategic shift after Iran-West rapprochement, says President Gül

RIYADH

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has said that the argument that rapprochement between Iran and West will bring changes in strategic relations in the region is “being exaggerated,” in an intervire with the Saudi daily Okaz. AA photo

The argument that rapprochement between Iran and West will bring changes in strategic relations in the region is “being exaggerated,” according to Turkish President Abdullah Gül, who said the newly developed dialogue should not be seen as a “tool for taking sides.”

“I think this issue is being exaggerated. If a country, whose relations with another were suspended for tens of years, has taken a step to establish dialogue with it, this should not be seen as another strategy to take sides. We should not have such tendencies that might lead to unhealthy interpretations,” Gül told to Saudi daily Okaz in an interview.

Gül said Turkey did “not want to see any weapons of mass destruction in any country, including those in the region.”

“Nevertheless, such issues must be resolved through diplomatic means. It would not be fair to accuse Iran with prejudice. Any country can have nuclear energy. But if this capacity is to be converted into weapons, then these must be destroyed. We see the U.S.-Iranian dialogue from this perspective,” he said.

The president also discussed the Syrian crisis in the interview. “The current situation in Syria is saddening us very much indeed. An Islamic country, where there is bloodshed, is exhausting itself. We therefore support a resolution through which the legitimate demands of the Syrian people can be achieved. Such a resolution is also backed by our Saudi brothers. The right of the Syrian people to emerge from this crisis, which has ruined their country and forced them to become refugees, must be protected,” he said.