Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on the West to treat Iran fairly when dealing with its nuclear program, saying other countries in the region should also not be allowed to have nuclear weapons, a reference to Israel.
"We do not want nuclear weapons in our region. But it would be unfair to ask one country not to obtain nuclear weapons while another country in the region already has them," Erdoğan said Wednesday in a speech he delivered at Moscow State University during a visit to the Russian capital. “If those who have the power do not act in a just manner, then the world will be a place where right and wrong are not distinguishable. There will be no global peace in such a world,” he continued.
Erdoğan has repeatedly said his government is opposed to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, but urged that Israel, which is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons although it has never openly acknowledged it, should also be facing pressure to get rid of them.
In Moscow, he reiterated his opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, saying that due to excessive spending on military defense, hundreds of millions of people are living in poverty and hunger. “We accept that acquiring nuclear technology for peaceful and civilian purposes is a sovereign right for countries. But we have told Iranian authorities numerous times that we are against nuclear weapons,” he said.
Turkey, which has expanded its political dialogue and economic cooperation with Iran, particularly in the field of energy, calls for diplomatic means to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, saying military sanctions would destabilize the region. Erdoğan said Turkey has been urging Iran to take steps to defuse tensions with the West over its nuclear program. “We have been telling all parties involved that there is no solution other than a peaceful resolution,” he said...."
Uprooted Palestinian
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