?Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks at an annual foreign policy review meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on Jan. 6, 2020. The U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's IRGC, threatens peace and stability throughout the region, said the Turkish foreign minister on Monday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
ANKARA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, threatens peace and stability throughout the region, said the Turkish foreign minister on Monday.
"We will work with other countries to reduce tensions between the U.S. and Iran," Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters at an annual foreign policy review meeting.
To this end, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made phone calls with his French, Iranian and Iraqi counterparts as well as with the Qatari emir and German chancellor, British prime minister, he said.
Turkey is concerned that the killing of Soleimani will increase the influence of the radical groups against the moderate ones in Iran, Cavusoglu noted.
The Turkish minister also called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be more active in the Libyan crisis in terms of political solution and cease-fire.
"There will be no winner of this civil war in Libya. If we cannot stop the clashes, this war may last long," he said.
Recalling the two memorandums of understanding with Libya, one on the delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean and the other on security and defense cooperation, Cavusoglu said Turkey has already deployed a small number of military advisors, technicians and trainers according to the motion adopted by the parliament.
