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Al-Jubeir: Iran should Reject Violence and Stop Stirring Sectarian Strife | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Saudi foreign affairs minister and Turkish counterpart hold joint news press conference on Thursday (SPA)


Riyadh-Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Jubeir said on Thursday that Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces was a sectarian militia organization with affiliations to Iran, causing problems and divisions, and committing ethnic crimes against civilians in different places in Iraq.

Jubeir’s remarks came during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of the 5th joint Gulf Cooperation Council -Turkey High Level Strategic Dialogue ministerial meeting in Riyadh.

The Saudi foreign affairs minister expressed his country’s readiness to normalize relations with Iran only if the latter adheres to the principles of good neighborliness, stops its interference in internal affairs of other states in the region, and halts its support to terrorism.

Commenting on the GCC-Turkey meeting, Jubeir said that the meeting was fruitful and constructive.

“There was a consensus among the ministers on the urgency of boosting relations between the GCC member states and Turkey in all fields and activate all agreements in the interests of both sides and peoples,” the Saudi foreign minister said.

For his part, Cavusoglu said that discussions touched on regional issues, in particular the situation in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. He added that foreign ministers also tackled the continuous Iranian interference in neighboring countries’ internal affairs.

He added that the agenda of meeting included issues of common interests, as ministers explored ways to promote relations between Turkey and the GCC.

The ministers also discussed “the unfortunate and tragic situation in Syria, and cooperation with the U.S. and Russian sides” in this matter, Cavusoglu said.

Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council States met with their Turkish counterpart on Thursday in Riyadh to discuss ways to promote bilateral cooperation between the GCC and Turkey and the best means to fight terrorism.

Relations between the GCC and Turkey have seen a great boost over the past two years. Eight Gulf-Turkish summits were held in 2015, during which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Arab leaders.