TURKEY: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rules out support for military action against Iran

Record ID: 397301

  • Title: TURKEY: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rules out support for military action against Iran
  • Date: 13th November 2011
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (NOVEMBER 12, 2011) (REUTERS) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AHMET DAVUTOGLU ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS LISTENING TO NEWS CONFERENCE SOUNDBITE (Turkish) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER, AHMET DAVUTOLGU, SAYING: "We do not think that it is right to put any possibility of a military operation in the region on the agenda, and we are against this military acti
  • Embargoed: 28th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABBCCA5RFZQ5JXVFTPLYPT1B7I
  • Story Text: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ruled out support for military action against Iran on Saturday (November 12), and said countries like Israel, that were openly considering the option, were destabilizing the region.
    "We do not think that it is right to put any possibility of a military operation in the region on the agenda, and we are against this military action. It will create new instability in the region. Everybody must behave with moral principles. The creation of new tensions in the region by countries who are under suspicion of having nuclear weapons is unacceptable," Davutoglu told a news conference in the Turkish capital.
    Earlier this week the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that Iran had worked on developing an atomic bomb design and may still be conducting such research.
    United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday (November 11) Washington was consulting allies on further steps to pressure Iran, but she stopped short of specifying actions under consideration.
    Speculation about an imminent attack on Iran was fuelled last week when Israel test-launched a long-range missile near Tel Aviv and by comments by Netanyahu that Tehran's nuclear program posed a "direct and heavy" threat.
    Israel sees a nuclear Iran as a threat to its existence, and though it has routinely said all options are on the table in confronting Tehran, including a military one, it has thrown its support behind U.S.-led international sanctions.
    But Russia and China have declared their opposition to a fresh round of measures, limiting the chances of pushing through another U.N. Security Council package of sanctions.
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