Davutoglu focuses on Iran in Munich talks

Munich, hosting an annual international security conference from Friday through today, was the venue on Saturday for Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's bilateral talks with his counterparts from various countries. Most of Davutoglu's talks apparently focused on global concerns over the nuclear ambitions of Turkey's neighbor Iran. He met with the new chief of the UN nuclear agency and reiterated Turkey's support for resolving the global dispute surrounding Iran's nuclear program. Davutoglu told International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano about his impressions from talks with Iranian officials in Tebriz in November. Davutoglu also spoke with US National Security Advisor James Jones and US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, who arrived in Munich from Yerevan, where last week they met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian as well as Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. Other dignitaries Davutoglu spoke with in Munich included Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who visited Ankara last week; Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan; NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen; Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union; French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner; and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. In a speech to the conference on security and stability in the Middle East, Davutoglu called for a new vision for the region, saying, "The Middle East should no longer be a burden on the group of nations, but must be turned into one that makes everyone winners. The image of the Middle East must be changed. When one looks at the region's historical and cultural past, it doesn't deserve its current bad image. Mutual respect must be established in the region." Davutoglu also reiterated that Turkey opposes nuclear weapons in its region and the world, adding that nuclear energy should be used for peaceful purposes only. In related news, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was also at the conference, thanked the international community for helping to ensure peace and security in Afghanistan, underlining Turkey's efforts in this context. Reiterating his plans to reintegrate Taliban insurgents into Afghan society, he also expressed belief that within five years Afghanistan could stand on its own feet to ensure and preserve security within its borders.