ISTANBUL (Hurriyet)–Tuesday’s meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Barack Obama “focused on many issues, including Armenia and Iran,” while a trilateral meeting between the Turkish, U.S. and Brazilian leaders was centered “exclusively on Iran,” reported Erdogan’s office.
During their 45-minute bilateral meeting, Erdogan conveyed his thoughts on Iran’s nuclear program to Obama, who told the Turkish leader that the U.S. appreciated Turkey’s diplomacy and efforts for peace in the region and requested Turkey’s constructive contributions to continue, Anatolia news agency reported.
According to Anatolia, Erdogan and Obama agreed on the need to continue talks about the Caucasus between Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his U.S. counterpart, Hillary Clinton. Davutoğlu and Clinton were also present at the meeting.
Obama’s short trilateral meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Erdogan was based “exclusively on Iran,” Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said, according to AFP.
Ankara has been reluctant to back a U.S. push for sanctions against Tehran and has joined forces with Brazil to work on an “alternative” offer. Erdogan as recently as late March rejected new sanctions in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel.
Davutoglu also met separately with Clinton and with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Tuesday.