Turkey’s Erdogan calls for diplomacy with Iran

Turkey’s prime minister said diplomacy, not sanctions, is the only way to solve the current crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.

The remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an interview published Tuesday by the French newspaper Le Figaro, come a day after Erdogan said that Turkey would come to the defense of Muslims around the world, according to a report by CNN-Turk.

We cannot be indifferent to the problems of the Islamic world of Jerusalem,” Erdogan reportedly said Monday at a ceremony to mark the opening of an Arab-language television and radio company.

“Our task is the integration with the Western world but we did not turn our back to the East,” Erdogan continued. “Arabs and Turks are brothers and we share the same values.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to Erdogan’s statements Monday, saying it is not interested in confrontation with Turkey.

“The impression that is being created is that the Turkish prime minister is seeking to integrate with the Muslim world at Israel’s expense,” read a ministry statement.

Erdogan began a two-day official visit to France on Tuesday. He told Le Figaro that he had told his “dear friend” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that there should be no nuclear arms in the region.

He also referred to the unconfirmed fact that one country in the region, Israel, already has nuclear weapons, adding “I don’t see why anyone should get bogged down with this case.”