In a sign of a thaw in an important Middle Eastern relationship, both Turkey and Iran said that they share concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of the conflict.
Iran has been an ally of President Assad’s government, while Turkey has been one of his fiercest critics. However, with the rise of Al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria, the governments of both countries came together to raise concerns about the possibility of sectarian war spreading to the Middle East and the rest of the world.
“Sitting here together with the Iranian foreign minister you can be sure we will be working together to fight these types of scenarios which aim to see a sectarian conflict,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a conference in Istanbul according to AFP.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, also said that he believes that sectarian conflict is even a greater threat and it is not confined to one region.
“Both Iran and Turkey are at a point where they think they can work together on Syria,” a senior Turkish official said.
Reuters reported the Turkish government as saying that both Iran and Iraq need to participate in the Geneva II conference, if the talks are to succeed.
