Turkish FM welcomes nuke deal but calls on Iran to revise regional policies

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) greets his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari prior to their meeting at the Foreign Ministry building in Ankara on July 14, 2015. AFP Photo

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu has welcomed the lifting of sanctions on neighboring Iran after the recent nuclear deal, saying it will contribute to the regional economy and will have a direct positive impact on Turkey. 

However, Çavuşoğlu also called on Tehran to revise its regional policies and “abandon sectarian politics.” 

Speaking at a press conference in Ankara with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on July 14, he said Ankara would issue more detailed statements after examining the declaration in more detail, but stressed that Turkey welcomed the deal at this stage.

Çavuşoğlu underlined that from now on “it is important to put the deal into practice with full transparency.”

The deal and its follow through will “contribute to stability in the region,” while lifting sanctions will contribute to the regional economy and have a direct impact on Turkey, the minister said, while also calling on Iran to revise its role in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. 

“It should play a positive and constructive role. It should abandon sectarian politics and give importance to political dialogue for solutions. This is our expectation from our brother Iran,” Çavuşoğlu said. 

Iraqi Foreign Minister al-Jaafari, for his part, said the deal and its implementation was key to bringing stability to the region.