Turkish president speaks out about Iran's nuclear issue

Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Saturday said his country wanted a peaceful settlement of the problem over Iran's nuclear program.

"We attach great importance that the nuclear issue of Iran is solved through diplomatic and peaceful means for Iran is our neighbor," Gul told a joint press meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Asad after meeting in Istanbul.

Gul said Turkey wanted to see problems in the Middle East that involved Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel, adding that he was grateful for al-Asad's confidence in Turkey over indirect talks between Israel and Syria.

Gul said Turkey and Syria shared deep-rooted cultural and historical ties as well as mutual trust in political and economic relations. Turkish president said relations between the two countries had developed significantly over the past years, adding that the lifting of visa requirements had made a great impact on relations and received great interest from other neighboring countries.

The two presidents also presided the signing ceremony of two agreements earlier today for cooperation in news publishing and media exchanges as well as on joint use of two border crossings between Turkey and Syria.


/Trend/