Turkey agrees to stay out of Iran nuclear issue, US official says

The official told reporters that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had asked Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in a 45-minute conversation Monday to leave the issue to U.N. Security Council powers and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation, said Davutoğlu agreed.

U.S.-Turkish relations have suffered since Turkey voted against U.S.-backed sanctions that ultimately passed in the U.N. Security Council last month.

The vote came shortly after Turkey tried to broker a nuclear fuel-swap deal with Iran as an alternative to sanctions.

The Turkish Embassy had no immediate comment on the Clinton-Davutoğlu talks.


/Hurriyet Daily News/