US-Iran rapprochement to benefit Turkey, says President Gül

ANKARA – Hürriyet

Turkish President Abudllah Gül (L) met with Iran’s newly-elected President Hassan Rouhani in New York Sept 26. AA photo

The rapprochement of the United States with Iran will benefit Turkey greatly, President Abdullah Gül has said.

“If the nuclear dispute were to be resolved we should be the one who is happiest. There are two alternatives; one is the desire to destroy Iran’s nuclear capacity by war, the second one is Iran’s surprise announcement that it made a nuclear weapon. We must be the one who will be most annoyed with these two conditions,” Gül said while onboard a plane en route to Turkey.

“But if a softening process starts, we would be the one who will be the happiest. Not because of the removal of possibilities of war or nuclear armament. There is also the economy. Our banks cannot make transactions with Iran. There are enormous sanctions,” he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama had spoken directly to Hassan Rouhani, breaking through a barrier that had left American and Iranian presidents divorced from such contact for 34 years. The two presidents pledged to resolve concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which have isolated Iranians from the global community and led to crippling economic sanctions.