Clinton warns Turkey of Iran’s attempt to buy time
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has delivered a blunt message to the Turkish foreign minister, telling him that Iran is not serious about accepting international demands to prove its nuclear program is peaceful as part of a US démarche to head off a joint Turkish-Brazilian effort that could help Iran avoid new UN sanctions over its suspect nuclear program.
The message was reported by US State Department spokesperson Phillip Crowley during his daily press briefing on Thursday, where he also indicated that Clinton had said Tehran must face fresh penalties unless it does a quick about-face and complies.
Crowley said that in her call to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Clinton had stressed that “in our view, Iran’s recent diplomacy was an attempt to stop Security Council action without actually taking steps to address international concerns about its nuclear program.”
“There is nothing new and nothing encouraging in Iran’s recent statements,” he told reporters. “The burden is with Iran, and its lack of seriousness about engagement requires us to intensify efforts to apply greater pressure.”
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would be visiting Tehran next week and that Iran would also be hosting a summit of developing countries known as the Group of 15 next week, with at least eight presidents in attendance.
Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Erdoğan said he had never said he would be in Tehran on Monday. “I will be visiting Georgia and Azerbaijan at that time,” the prime minister said. Adding that he had already held talks with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in İstanbul this week, Erdoğan said if necessary, the foreign minister may go and he may visit Tehran later, too.
Iran also said that Brazil and Turkey had offered a promising new proposal for a nuclear fuel deal that would make the push for sanctions irrelevant. Noting that Iran was the primary purpose of the conversation, Crowley said they also briefly touched on other subjects, including Middle East peace and the relationship between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Stressing their constant, ongoing conversation on the situation in Iran, Crowley said that at some point in the next few weeks they expect to table a resolution in New York, and at that time, Turkey will have a decision to make in terms of whether or not to support that resolution. “We’ve had many, many discussions with Turkey and Brazil and others who are deeply engaged in this process. … Foreign Minister Davutoğlu has been personally to Tehran multiple times trying to convince Iran to be more forthcoming, and so we have just kept in regular contact,” the spokesman said.
US officials were pessimistic about the joint Turkish-Brazilian efforts to seek alternatives to sanctions in Iran’s nuke row. The spokesman said ultimately Turkey will make a judgment based on its own self-interest and its own international obligations. “We are in conversation with Turkey, Brazil, many other countries that are part of the Security Council and will be required to judge what the consequences of Iran’s failure to respond or engage seriously are,” he added.
Noting that they have a two-track strategy, the spokesman said Turkey and Brazil have made a substantial commitment to try to make progress on the engagement track.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-210231-102-clinton-warns-turkey-of-irans-attempt-to-buy-time.html
in bush's terms are you with us or against us...
