Iran warned against interference

Jeddah: Saudi Arabia and Turkey agreed to reject continued Iranian intervention in Iraqi affairs and warned that such interference would harm the future of the country.

This was during the meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz here yesterday. An official source at the Turkish delegation accompanying Erdogan told Gulf News that their talks focused mainly on Iraq.

"Erdogan briefed King Abdullah on the outcome of consultations he had held with a group of Iraqi Sunni and Shiite scholars in London last Tuesday.

Stability

"Erdogan sought the opinions of scholars with regard to returning political stability and security to the strife-torn country and the position to be taken at the forthcoming reconciliation conference in Makkah to end the Sunni-Shiite conflict," the official, who declined to reveal his identity, said.

According to the official, Erdogan pledged Turkey's full support to the initiative being proposed by Saudi Arabia to end fighting between Sunnis and Shiites that is feared could slide into a full-scale civil war. Saudi Arabia is to host the reconciliation conference of the Iraqi Sunni and Shiite scholars, aimed at ending the conflict, in Makkah next week.

"Saudi-Turkish talks also focused on the Iranian nuclear issue. Both sides underlined the need for finding a solution to the issue through diplomatic means," the Turkish source said while adding that the two leaders urged the United States to come forward to hold talks with Iran.