Turkish fm: Turkey against any polarization in the Mideast

ANKARA (A.A) – January 4, 2012 - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said Turkey was against any polarization in the Middle East. "I want to clearly say that there are some who seek a regional cold war. We are determined to prevent it. A regional sectarian tension would be a suicide for the region," said Davutoglu who assessed the year 2012 to AA. Davutoglu noted that there was a risk of rising tension which would affect not only Iraq and Syria but also the whole region. However, we are determined to prevent a regional cold war, he added. Davutoglu said that following his visit to Iran, he would tour Russia and the U.S. within a month, and hold meetings with officials of the EU and Gulf countries, and host foreign ministers of several countries in Turkey. Davutoglu said that Turkey was against escalation of tension in the region, adding that Turkey's Iraq policy was to being close to all groups in that country. Noting that the people in the region wanted a new political understanding which covered everybody and attached importance to the views of everybody, Davutoglu said that Tunisia was a good example in this aspect. President and prime minister of Tunisia are from two different political streams, said Davutoglu, adding that Turkey wanted such an understanding of consensus to prevail in the region.