Abdullah Gül, addressing to Chicago's Council on Global Relations, said the international community has no other choice but to pursue and facilitate dialogue in Iran's long-running nuclear dispute with the West ahead of key Baghdad talks on Wednesday between Iran and six world powers. He said this was the reason why Turkey hosted the most recent talks between the P5+1 (Permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany) and Iran in İstanbul last month.
Gül said Turkey is pleased to see that the parties agreed in İstanbul to sustain their dialogue with a focused agenda.
"Now we hope that the Baghdad meeting to be held tomorrow will take this agreement further and translate it into practical steps on both sides," he added.
Iran made the first move on Tuesday in attempts to gain an edge in nuclear talks with world powers by agreeing in principle to allow UN inspectors to restart probes into a military site suspected of harboring tests related to atomic weapons.
The tentative accord - announced as envoys headed to the Iraqi capital for negotiations - is likely to be used by Iran as added leverage to seek concessions from the West on sanctions.
That could cool down worries in international markets over possible military action, but reinforce the suspicions of Israeli leaders who claim Iran seeks only to buy time to keep up its production of nuclear fuel.
Gül said Turkey is certainly among those that are highly concerned of the possibility of nuclear proliferation, adding that Turkey does not wish to see any form of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the region and that Turkey is categorically against the possession of those weapons.
He warned that attempts at developing or acquiring such weapons may well trigger a regional race for its possession, which in turn would lead to further instability threatening international peace and security. "That is why," Gül added, "we have always been calling for the establishment of a weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East including both Iran and Israel."
Turkish president stressed that Turkey is supporting Iran's right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes but Turkey also demands Iran to be transparent and assure the international community through the necessary verification measures as to the non-military nature of their program.
Iran has repeatedly denied it seeks nuclear arms and says its reactors are only for power and medical research. US opposes a near-term military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. He has pressed Israel to give diplomacy and sanctions time to work while insisting that military options are available should talks fail.
Gül offered closing the gap of confidence on both sides as a key to solution and pave the way for a meaningful process of dialogue, citing Turkey's experience.
He recalled Tehran Declaration Turkey and Brazil helped strike with Iran in May 2010 by which Iran had to transfer more than half of its enriched uranium outside the country. He branded the deal as "an important confidence-building measure." He added that a similar deal is still being sought today which he said "is quite unfortunate that this opportunity had been lost then."
Speaking about Turkish foreign policy in general, Gül said Turkey has also been instrumental in facilitating peace and reconciliation on a number of occasions, adding that Turkey's efforts to create a common ground of cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan or between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia for instance have already borne fruit.
He said Turkey has been heavily criticized along the way by its friends and foes for being too ambitious, too independent and even too different. He noted that Turkey has become more assertive in its actions aimed at bringing more stability and welfare to the broader region it is located.
To support the widening horizons of foreign policy and engagement, Gül said, Turkey is also expanding its diplomatic network.
"Within the last three years we have opened more than 40 new missions abroad while the rest of the world were reducing the number of their diplomatic missions due to the economic crisis," he said.
As far as the Arab Spring is concerned Turkey has been the most ardent supporter of this historic transformation process from the outset, Turkish president claimed.
He contended that every step towards democracy will make these countries more reliable partners of the international community while meeting the legitimate expectations of their own people. According to Gül, in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen which are now at the post-revolutionary stage of institutionalizing the change, Turkey is their most active partner.
Ankara's evolving response to the upheavals of the Arab Spring is broadly in harmony with its NATO and European Union allies, who had balked at the Turkey's previous "zero problems with the neighbors" policy, that indulged Syria and its ally Iran, and which some derided as a neo-Ottoman turn away from Turkey's long-standing Western ties.
Gül said in Syria, Turkey is still in the middle of the revolution which has not yet come to fruition because of the repressive policies of the regime. He said every day scores of people are dying in pursuit of their dignity and the international community has a responsibility to support their journey to democracy.
He added that Turkey is doing all it can to alleviate the sufferings of the Syrian people and among others, Turkey is now hosting close to 25,000 Syrians who fled from the regime's campaign of violence in the country.
Turkey is piling pressure on Syria with economic sanctions and the harboring of Syrian opposition groups and army defectors. Revolted by the killing of Syrian civilians, and seeing the tide of history turn with the "Arab Spring" of popular uprisings, Turkey has calculated that its long term interest lies in supporting the Syrian people's struggle for democracy.
Gulf Arabs and Turkey alike want to see a street uprising and insurgency in Syria unseat President Bashar al-Assad to help roll back the regional clout of his close ally, Iran and prevent any spillover of its increasingly sectarian bloodshed.
Turkish president said Turkish government is also in constant touch with the opposition represented by the Syrian National Council (SNC) and encourage them to put forward a new vision for a new Syria that will encompass every citizen in the country and fully ensure their rights.
He complained that the international community as a whole has so far performed poorly in providing an effective response to the crisis at hand. Gül recalled six point Annan Plan and said this might still be the last chance for an orderly transition in Syria if it is urgently implemented in all its aspects.