Turkey steps in to calm Bahrain spat

Turkey, emerging as an intermediary in the spat between Iran and Saudi Arabia after the latter's intervention in Bahrain, has submitted a set of proposals in an effort to soothe tensions. According to diplomatic sources, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke Wednesday with his counterparts from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The sources declined to detail the contents of Turkey's proposals, but said Davutoglu warned his counterparts not to exacerbate problems in the delicate Middle East. He warned of the dangers of a sectarian clash in Bahrain and expressed full support for continued political reform there. "We are closely following the developments in Bahrain," said a Foreign Ministry statement yesterday. The ministry described the escalating tension between the parties in Bahrain – taking place despite its rulers' calls for dialogue – as an "unfortunate development." Anti-government protests began in Bahrain last month. Bahraini forces imposed a curfew and began to intervene against the protestors on Wednesday. The latest crisis between the country's Shiite majority and its dominant Sunni minority has also, with the arrival of Saudi troops, laid bare regional hostilities between Sunni Arab countries and non-Arab Shiite Iran.