(IRNA) - Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Husun Gurcan Turkoglu here Tuesday said that the pursuit of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes was Iran's inalienable right.
Speaking to reporters at the northwestern city of Orumiyeh, Turkoglu added that the right of countries to develop peaceful nuclear energy was guaranteed by international law, reports Trend.
The Turkish government believes that Iran's stand-off with the West on its nuclear program should be settled through diplomatic channels, he added.
He said that Turkey, as a friend of Iran, wecomes negotiation and diplomacy for resolving the nuclear stand-off.
The envoy said that joint committees are to be set up between Iran and Turkey to counter illegal groups creating problems for the Iranian and Turkish peoples, and expressed hope the committees would succeed in reining in the activities of these groups.
Five cities of the 2.8-million-population West Azarbaijan province have common borders with Turkey. West Azarbaijan is regarded as Iran's gateway to Europe.