Davutoğlu: “We Will Follow the U.N. Sanctions on Iran”

Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu met with his American, U.N., European and Iranian counterparts for the last three days. Turkey is still on the stage.

When Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu landed in Lisbon, Iranian Foreign Minister Menuçehr Muttaki was in Portugal as well. Davutoğlu met Mottaki, and they spoke about the meetings and talks Davutoğlu has had for the last three days.

Davutoğlu had spoken to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the phone for about 1.5 hours before and then spoke to the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during Davutoğlu’s visit to the Sanjak region of Serbia with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan. Davutoğlu also met Catherine Ashton, the E.U. high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and spoke to her for more than seven hours.

The meetings, in which Egemen Bağış, the Turkish minister for E.U. affairs and chief negotiator, and Stefan Füle, the E.U. commissioner for enlargement, also participated, were in regard to Turkey–E.U. relations, but the Iranian issue appeared in the agenda as well. Just like Clinton, who reportedly appreciated Turkey’s efforts on the Iranian issue, Ashton asked Turkey to maintain its efforts to help rekindle the dialogue with Iran.

Before asking Davutoğlu about the details of his meetings with Clinton and Ashton, we threw him a critical question: Given that Turkey and Brazil voted in the U.N. Security Council against sanctions on Iran due to its nuclear program, but the sanctions resolution passed anyway, now that both the U.S. and the E.U. are asking Turkey’s support for dialogue with Iran, would Turkey follow the U.N. sanctions?

Davutoğlu says, “Of course,” and, to leave no doubt, “Everyone knows what the Security Council resolution is. According to Article Seven of the U.N. Charter, that is a clear issue and an obligation. There is no discussion about it. What we have been discussing here is how the diplomatic process will be worked out thereafter.”

The process Davutoğlu discussed with Mottaki has two tracks: with Tehran on uranium exchange protocols, including confidence-building measures, and with meetings to be held between the P5+1 group, consisting of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China) plus Germany and Iran.

Another task E.U. High Representative Ashton has is to carry on a dialogue with Iran on behalf of the P5+1 group. But the meetings cannot commence yet. After all, the necessary focus on this issue is finding an ultimate “permanent solution,” as Clinton mentioned to Davutoğlu in the meeting with Ashton. In other words, Clinton asked Davutoğlu to step in actively again, just like Turkey was active on the issue of a nuclear fuel swap.

Davutoğlu says he “suggested to Clinton that both processes should work in tandem. The important point is that the meetings between the P5+1 group and Iran should start as soon as possible. We also wish that the tension waned and sanctions were removed when adequate progress is made. No one can tell us ‘to stay out of the process’. We will be actively involved in any process that influences us. I am not saying this against anyone. We will not make decisions on their behalf. We will be involved for our national interests. And they well know that Turkey has positively contributed to the issue.”

The contribution the minister mentioned was his previous encouragement of Saeed Jalili, the chief Iranian nuclear negotiator, to respond to Ashton’s letter. Jalili, we learned, signaled that talks could take place in September. Now Davutoğlu told Ashton that the sooner she responds to Jalili, the better. In short, Turkey is still involved in the Iranian issue but will follow the U.N. sanctions at the same time.

Cyprus problem with the E.U.

It is reported that Davutoğlu, Ashton, Bağış and Füle devoted a large part of their meeting to discuss issues that are not directly related to Turkey–E.U. relations: the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and Israel. According to Davutoğlu, “they all realized that if its relations with the E.U. sit on the right ground, Turkey might become a global pivot. Why can’t we reflect this strategic perspective in the accession document? Let’s state this very clearly. It is the Greek Cypriots’ attitudes and the domestic political concerns of some countries. The time for the E.U. to make a strategic choice is fast approaching.” Davutoğlu says they offered new dialogue mechanisms to the E.U. for establishing new platforms of cooperation but did not explain what these mechanisms are, “not yet …”.

Turkey will wait for Israel’s apology after-the-fact, and, if an international commission is formed, the government has put forward three conditions Israel needs to meet to correct relations after the Mavi Marmara incident: an apology by Israeli government, compensation for losses of human lives and Israel’s acceptance of an international commission (and its findings).

Davutoğlu refuted claims that he had not mentioned the “international commission” condition in the note of protest Turkey had delivered to Israel. But, after his last talks with Clinton and Ban Ki-moon, Davutoğlu expects positive developments to occur “not in weeks but days.” These positive developments are expected to come from New York in respect to the political-legal dimension of the incident and from the U.N. office in Geneva in respect to the human rights dimension.

If this commission is formed, Davutoğlu thinks the tension in Turkish–Israeli relations might relax because he expects to hear an apology from the Israeli government after the international commission announces its findings. Otherwise? Davutoğlu says, “Sanctions might be applied.”