Tehran, Iran, Oct. 21
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Reza Hakan Tekin has said that Ankara has taken proper measures to insure the safety of the upcoming elections.
Turkey's political parties are campaigning to gain the most seats in the next parliament in elections that are to be held on Nov. 1.
All necessary measures are being taken to ensure that the elections will be carried out in peace and safety, Tekin told Trend Oct. 21.
"Unfortunately some heinous terrorist acts have been perpetrated recently in Turkey by various terrorist groups. The despicable bombings in Ankara on Oct. 10, which resulted in the loss of 102 citizens, have been the biggest single terrorist act in the Turkish Republic 's history. PKK has also resumed targeting our security forces almost on daily basis since last July," the ambassador said.
"Our authorities have been taking all necessary measures to fight these terrorist groups, to preempt any future similar acts and to bring their perpetrators and planners to justice. All necessary measures are also being taken to ensure that the elections in our country will be carried out in peace and safety. We do not think that the recent surge in terrorist acts will have any negative effect on the health of the elections. No terrorist group will succeed in hampering the emergence of the will of our people in the upcoming elections."
Asked about the logistics and statistics of the elections, Mr. Tekin said in preparation for the elections, ballot boxes have been or will be established at Turkish embassies and consulates all over the world. The voting process abroad has started in some countries as of October 8, 2015 and will be completed everywhere on October 25, 2015, he said.
"We will be conducting elections at our Embassy in Tehran and at our Consulates in Tabriz and Urmia on October 25, 2015. One ballot box at each office will be established. This will enable Turkish citizens who are living in Iran and are eligible to take part in the elections to vote," Tekin noted.
He said that according to records, there are 1029 Turkish citizens residing in Iran who are eligible to vote in these elections.
Tekin also answered a question about Turkey 's concerns over the ongoing crisis in Syria.
"We are deeply saddened and concerned about the ongoing bloodshed and instability in our neighbor Syria that has been going on for more than four years. Our warnings since the inception of the crisis have unfortunately been unheeded and a great tragedy has unfolded just next door. The effects of the situation are now being felt beyond our region," he stated.
The Turkish ambassador said Ankara thinks the recent Russian military involvement in Syria has further complicated the crisis.
"It risks to further compound the already challenging situation," he asserted.
Tekin admitted that Ankara and Tehran have differences regarding the Syrian issue. "We enjoy close relations with our neighbor Iran with which we share a lot in common historically and culturally. However, we do have some differences on regional issues. Syria is among those issues," he noted.
"But both countries have been careful enough not to reflect those differences on our bilateral relations," he pointed out.
"We have also continued our consultations with Iran at all levels despite those differences. We hope that we can reach a common ground with Iran in this regard as soon as possible which will serve the interests of our two nations as well as the whole region."
Tehran has been expressing support for Russia 's recent airstrikes against armed groups in Syria. However, Iran says it does not directly engage in war with the groups, but will keep providing military consultation to the government of President Bashar Assad.
Edited by CN