ANKARA - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that they had assured validity of the Tehran Agreement by voting against the UN resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
In an interview with the Channel 24 TV, Davutoglu said, "many countries including those which voted in favor of the UN resolution today, considered the Tehran Agreement signed by Turkey and Brazil as a great achievement. The Vienna Group also referred to the Tehran Agreement in its letter about Iran's nuclear program."
Asked whether the Tehran Agreement was still in force following approval of the UN resolution, Davutoglu said, "actually, we have assured validity of the Tehran Agreement by voting against the UN resolution today."
"If Iran had been totally isolated and if we had not declared that we stood behind the Tehran Agreement, there would have not been any negotiation ground with Iran," he said.
Asked whether Turkey's decision would have a negative impact on relations with the United States, Davutoglu said, "following the Tehran Agreement, our attitude crystallized. Turkey paved the way for U.S. President Barack Obama's policies with every step it took. We have always informed the U.S. administration on our attitude."
"As of tomorrow morning, we will intensify our diplomatic efforts. There are two options: Leaders could think about sitting at the negotiation table with Iran to resolve the issue through diplomacy and to put into practice the Tehran Agreement; and Iran could join the negotiation process. If these two processes work together, the resolution can be invalidated," he said.
"If all those efforts are ignored, it will be impossible to carry out the peace processes about Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Today's decision was made without taking into consideration all those regional impacts," he added.