Ricciardone: "The US and Turkey share the same strategic goals on Iran"

Washington and Ankara share the same strategic goals concerning "the most sensitive topic" between the two allies, namely Iran, US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone said yesterday. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency ahead of a business meeting with US companies in Istanbul, he said the US and Turkey have shared interests and the same strategic goals in the region but that "naturally, we sometimes have different views." Ricciardone said both countries are reluctant to see Iran developing nuclear weapons and agree that Iran has the right to possess peaceful nuclear energy once it meets necessary international obligations. He added that Turkey and the US are largely on the same page on ways to persuade Iran to comply with its international commitments and that the fundamental agreement between the two countries is that diplomacy, if not the only tool, is the best one to deal with the Iranian nuclear standoff.