After voting against new sanctions, Turkey still believes diplomacy only way out of nuclear row

Despite a nuclear fuel swap deal that Turkey and Brazil brokered with Iran last month to address concerns that Tehran may be enriching uranium for nuclear weapons, thus avoiding the need for new sanctions, the UN Security Council yesterday approved a resolution for new sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program, which Iran claims is peaceful in nature. The resolution passed 12-2, with Lebanon abstaining and Brazil and Turkey, both non-permanent members of the council, voting against the measure. Speaking at a UN meeting in Istanbul yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the international community to take a fair stance by focusing not just on Iran, but also other regional countries that have a nuclear arsenal, alluding to Israel. Referring to last week's Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which left nine Turks dead, Erdogan said, "All countries of the world must know that the crimes they commit and rules they violate will not be go unanswered. A fair stance must be taken against these states." Reiterating that Turkey doesn't want nuclear weapons in its region, Erdogan spoke about the uranium swap deal, saying, "Turkey and Brazil achieved a diplomatic victory for the sake of regional and global peace. The international community, showing a proper sensitivity to Iran's having nuclear weapons, must treat other regional countries with nuclear weapons the same." In related news, commenting on the new UN resolution, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey tried to protect the nuclear swap deal by voting against the sanctions, adding, "Many countries, including those which voted in favor of the UN resolution, consider the Tehran agreement signed by Turkey and Brazil a great achievement." Asked whether the agreement still exists in the wake of the vote, Davutoglu said, "We ensured the validity of the Tehran agreement by voting against the UN resolution today." He added, "As of tomorrow morning, we will intensify our diplomatic efforts. There are two options: Leaders could consider sitting at the negotiating table with Iran to resolve the issue through diplomacy and implementing the Tehran agreement; and Iran could join the negotiation process. If these two processes work together, the new resolution could be invalidated ... (But) if all those efforts are ignored, working for peace in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East will be made impossible. Today's decision was made without taking into consideration all the regional impact." Davutoglu also said Turkey’s policy on this issue is in line with US President Barack Osama's engagement policy. A Prime Ministry statement said Turkey believes that a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue is still possible despite the new sanctions and will continue its efforts to this end, which is why Turkey stood behind the swap deal by voting against the resolution. In another statement, the Foreign Ministry said keeping dialogue between the related parties alive and using diplomatic means to this end is the only way out of the issue.