Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu has assured his country's full support to Pakistan's efforts for restoration of peace in Middle East ahead of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's crucial visit to Tehran.

According to a statement of the Foreign Office, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi received a telephone call from his Turkish counterpart Saturday and discussed the latest regional situation and the US-Iran tension.

It stated that the Turkish foreign minister appreciated Pakistan's efforts to ease tensions between Iran and the US and assured Turkey's complete support to the efforts aimed at restoration of peace and stability in the region.

The Turkish foreign minister apprised Foreign Minister Qureshi of his assessment of the situation after recent visit to Iraq. It stated that Foreign Minister Qureshi informed his Turkish counterpart of his telephonic contact with Iraqi foreign minister. He also informed Foreign Minster Çavusoglu of his upcoming visits to Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US to reduce tensions in the Middle East.

The Turkish foreign minister also condemned the terrorist incident in Quetta and expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of innocent lives in the terror attack. He also expressed solidarity with Pakistan on behalf of his government.

Earlier in a statement on Saturday, Foreign Minister Qureshi said Pakistan will continue to play its role for de-escalation of tension in the region. He reaffirmed Pakistan's stance that the region cannot afford any other conflict.

The foreign minister said that on the directions of the Prime Minister, he is also visiting Iran to hold talks with the Iranian leadership. He said that he will later visit Saudi Arabia and the United States to hold talks with the leaders of the respective countries.

He stressed the need for reduction of tension between Iran and the United States, adding that the recent statement of US President Donald Trump has given a ray of hope towards that end.

Referring to confession of shooting down Ukrainian civilian plane by Iran, Qureshi hoped that the confession from Iran that the plane was downed mistakenly should lead to reduction of tension.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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