Envoy Urges Iran-Turkey Efforts To Restore Regional Peace

Ankara, Sept 11, IRNA – Iran’s Ambassador to Turkey Ali-Reza Bikdeli has stressed the need for further Iran-Turkey efforts to restore regional peace and stability. Speaking in a televised interview with Turkish NTV network, the ambassador said he believed Tehran and Ankara could mend their friendly relations which has been tarnished due to their different stands over the Syrian crisis. He voiced Tehran’s readiness to take any step in line with expansion of bilateral relations between the two nations. “We believe that friendly relations between the two capitals would help regional peace and stability,” Bikdeli stressed, referring to various historic points shared by the two nations. He said that Iran had proper cooperation with Turkey on humanitarian issues including release of two Turkish pilots kidnapped in Lebanon. Iran was the first country that condemned the hostage taking and made some contacts to help resolve the problem, the ambassador noted. On critical situation in Syria, he called on both Iran and Turkey to find a joint solution to the crisis, stressing that such a move would help promote bilateral ties between Tehran and Ankara. He added that all those who claimed the Syrian government had used chemical weapons could offer no clear evidence to support their claims. He said the United Nations inspectors should be allowed to fulfill their investigation over the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian nation./end