Ankara Optimistic About Positive Outcome Of Iran-5+1 Talks : Envoy

Tehran, April 11, IRNA – Turkish ambassador to Iran Umit Yardim said his country hopes for positive results of the upcoming negotiations between Tehran and the 5+1. He told IRNA that Turkey hopes the talks between Iran and the 5+1 (the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) to take place in Istanbul on April 14 would have positive outcomes. Yardim termed Tehran-Ankara relations as crucial for both the world and the region, noting that the two countries play major roles in the region. Elaborating on the recent visit of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iran, Yardim said the visit resulted in bringing the views of the two countries in various fields even closer together. Asked to comment on the truth of claims that Erdogan carried a nuclear message from the US President Barack Obama to Iran, the Turkish envoy denied the news released by the Washington Post. To a question whether Turkey wanted to decrease 20 percent of its oil imports from Iran to join the unilateral sanctions on Tehran, the envoy answered that the whole thing is about trade exchanges between the two countries not the political issues. About the issue of Syria, the Turkish ambassador said his country is against any foreign military intervention in Damascus internal affairs./end