Turkey considers Iran, U.S. role

ANKARA, Turkey, March 10 (UPI) -- Turkish officials may consider acting as a mediator between Washington and Iran ahead of a scheduled visit to Ankara by U.S. President Barack Obama.

During a weekend meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Turkey's efforts in the region, notably in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Babacan said in the wake of the meeting that Ankara would consider serving as a mediator to Tehran and Washington at the request of both parties, Turkey's Today's Zaman reports.

Babacan travels to Tehran this week to attend the Economic Cooperation Organization meeting along with President Abdullah Gul. Though neither is expected to carry an official message from Washington, both may encourage Tehran to take advantage of Obama's engagement policy to ease tensions over Iran's nuclear program, the report said.

Washington has opened the possibility of diplomacy following years of isolation under former U.S. President George W. Bush. Ankara, for its part, opposes nuclear proliferation but views economic sanctions as counterproductive, favoring direct talks instead.

"We can contribute to bringing relations between the two countries to a much better place, and our hope is that this search for dialogue will bring concrete results," Babacan said.

Obama may visit Turkey as early as April.