Ankara in efforts to resolve Iran-US conflict through diplomacy

The Middle East is "coming to a boil" with many problems and Turkey has been showing efforts to control and cease the "temporary" tensions between the U.S. and Iran by using diplomatic means, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

"On the one hand, we are having certain problems in Syria and, on the other hand, there are developments in Libya. Of course, when we are dealing with all of this, the fact that such incidents occur are really thought-provoking. Everyone asks where this is heading to," Erdoğan said late on Jan. 5.

The president's remarks came during a televised interview with private broadcasters.

"As Turkey, we had and have been making many efforts in order to control and halt this conflict via diplomacy," he said.

Erdoğan also conveyed that Turkey has been in dialogue with Western countries for the resolution of the conflict. Ankara urges "moderate and calm" moves regarding the heightened tensions.

"We have to do this. We have emphasized the necessity of acting in close coordination with the countries we share similar concerns. Despite all the efforts and international initiatives, it has not been possible for the U.S.-Iran tension to be resolved at the moment," he said.

"We have seen that the crisis has recently started to grow, especially through Iraq. The fact that [the crisis'] location has been determined as Iraq is noteworthy," he added.

The president also underlined that a conflict in Iraq will damage both the country's and the region's peace and stability.

He added that the conflict started as the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was stormed by a large group of angry protesters on Dec. 31, 2019 and reached a "critical phase" with the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic...