Manama: Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davudoglu on Tuesday said that there was no Turkish mediation in Bahrain.
Talk about a Turkish role in launching negotiations between Bahrain's authorities and opposition figures emerged after media reports of a Kuwaiti mediation under the auspices of the Emir were denied by Bahraini and Kuwaiti officials.
The Turkish minister denied a role for his country in a possible mediation at a press conference in Manama with his Bahraini counterpart, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa.
Shaikh Khalid said that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was looking forward to positive neighbourly relations with Iran, but wanted Tehran to stop making negative statements.
"We are keen on good relations with Iran," Shaikh Khalid said. "We do hope that the Iranians refrain from making statements that warrant reactions from our part. All measures and steps taken by Bahrain and the GCC towards Iran were reactions to things we heard or attitudes we saw. We did not start anything with Iran," he told reporters.
On Sunday, the six GCC foreign ministers issued a communiqué in Riyadh asking Iran not to meddle in the domestic affairs of their six member countries. Shaikh Khalid said that it was a reaction to statements made by the Iranians.
Tensions are reaching new heights in the region after the two shores of the Gulf have exchanged statements about a string of dramatic developments.
Iran has been highly critical of Bahrain during the political turmoil that hit the country in February and March, and Manama has told Tehran to keep away from its domestic affairs.
Iran's criticism was extended to Saudi Arabia weeks later after units from the Saudi-Arabia-based Peninsula Shield, the military arm of the GCC, entered Bahrain to help the kingdom with its security and stability drive.
A court verdict by a Kuwaiti court last week against an Iranian spy cell sparked a heated war of words between the two countries.
Shaikh Khalid told reporters in Manama that Yemen's stability, the other issue discussed by the foreign ministers at their special meeting, was of high significance for the region.
"The GCC has a vital role to play in helping with stability in Yemen. If we do not take up this role, we will fail our responsibilities," he said.
Addressing the reporters, Davudoglu said that there was no Turkish mediation in Bahrain.
Talk about a Turkish role in launching negotiations between Bahrain's authorities and opposition figures emerged after media reports of a Kuwaiti mediation under the auspices of the Emir were denied by Bahraini and Kuwaiti officials.
