Turkey's Erdogan dials Trump, pushes for diplomacy to resolve Iran conflict

In a brief phone call on Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his US counterpart Donald Trump that contested issues with Iran could be resolved through diplomacy. Erdogan called the American president to welcome the extension of the ceasefire between the US and Iran, Reuters reported.

It is pertinent to note that Turkey is watching the ongoing conflict in West Asia closely because it is a Nato member that borders Iran. It has been in close contact with both the warring nations and mediators, Pakistan, often pushing for the swift resolution of the conflict. It has called for an end to the conflict and passed messages between the ⁠sides.

More from World

The phone call came right after Trump said that the negotiations with Iran were "in the final stages," while ​warning of further attacks unless Tehran agrees to a peace deal. "During the meeting, ​our President stated that he viewed the decision to extend the ceasefire in the conflict zone in our region as a positive development (and) that he believed a reasonable solution to ​the disputed issues was possible," the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

It added ​that Erdogan called renewed stability in Syria an "important gain" for the region, adding that he ‌urged ⁠steps to prevent the situation in Lebanon from worsening amid the continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Erdogan pushes Nato's case

During the phone call, the Turkish leader also updated his American counterpart about the preparation of the Nato Summit. Ankara is scheduled to host the international event in July. The Turkish presidential office said that the country was working ​for the meeting ​to be "a success ⁠in every aspect".

The two leaders also discussed the need to promote bilateral ties. Trump eventually took to TruthSocial and said that he had a "very good" ​call with Erdogan, adding that the pair have a very ​good ⁠relationship.

"Isn't it nice to have relationships with some very tough people? He's a tough guy, and I have a relationship with him that nobody else has," Trump ⁠said. "He's ​been, I think, very much of an ally. ​Some people doubt that, but I think he's been a great ally," he furthered. While Turkey is not a formal mediator of the conflict, it is pushing for its resolution given what is at stake for Ankara.

With inputs from Reuters.