Gul calls for meaningful dialogue with Iran on nuclear issue

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that in order to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, there is no other option than working to facilitate deeper and meaningful dialogue. “It is impossible to find a military solution to Iran’s nuclear problem. Such a move will make the problem at hand only worse and create new zones of conflict,” Gul told a conference on “Turkey’s Economic and Foreign Policy Priorities” at the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, according to Journal of Turkish Weekly. Gul said Turkey had great concern over the possibility of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, adding that his country was dead set against nuclear weapons in its region. “Acquiring or developing such weapons could trigger a regional arms race and produce a major imbalance that would threaten international peace and security,” he noted. Gul said that Turkey supports the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, adding that Iran should act transparently and provide the international community necessary assurances that its nuclear program did not have any military intentions. “In any circumstance, when we look at the alternatives we have, there is no other option than working to facilitate deeper and meaningful dialogue to solve the problem,” he said.