Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on April 24 that one or two key sticking points in the U.S.-Iran talks, particularly in the nuclear file, could soon be resolved as negotiations are set to resume in Islamabad over the weekend.
Speaking to journalists after a program at Oxford University during his visit to Britain, Fidan said Türkiye was in contact with all sides “almost every day” and was trying to contribute positively to the process.
Fidan said Ankara had welcomed the initial two-week ceasefire and had also made clear that it would not be enough on its own to secure a final agreement.
He said the extension announced earlier this week was a positive step and added that progress in the nuclear talks could also help ease broader regional tensions, including around the Strait of Hormuz.
On Hormuz, Fidan outlined two possible scenarios.
He said one would involve a negotiated return to the previous status quo, with maritime passage proceeding without restrictions or additional cost.
The other, he said, would arise if the talks failed and the conflict continued, in which case the focus would shift to how to address what he described as problematic areas in the strait.
Fidan said Türkiye would not oppose technical and humanitarian steps such as mine clearance in a post-conflict setting but would take a different position if any operation appeared to place Ankara on one side of a renewed conflict.
During the same visit, Fidan also described the signing of the Türkiye-United Kingdom Strategic Partnership Framework as an important stage in bilateral ties.
Signed in London on April 23 with British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the document sets out broader cooperation between the two NATO allies in areas including security, defense industry, counterterrorism, climate, energy, science, and technology, while also reaffirming plans to expand trade and investment, including through talks on a modernized free trade agreement.
Fidan also spoke about the recent remarks by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Fidan said, "The president's remarks were unfortunate; we have necessary communications, so I think we have fixed it, corrected it."
His comments came in response to a speech delivered by von der Leyen earlier this week in Hamburg, where she was marking the 80th anniversary of the newspaper Die Zeit.
Addressing the question of EU enlargement, she said: “We must succeed in completing the European continent so that it is not influenced by Russia, Türkiye, or China.”
