Davutoglu’s resignation not to affect Iran-Turkey ties: Turkish ambassador

The Turkish ambassador in Tehran said on Monday that Turkish foreign policy will not be seriously affected by the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and that such changes will not leave an impact on Iran-Turkey ties, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with IRNA, Reza Hakan Tekin said that Iran is an important country and a key neighbor of Turkey and expansion of relations with Tehran is high on the agenda of Ankara.

He said that resignation is something natural in the world of politics which happens now and then.

The ambassador said that the Justice and Development (AKP) Party, which holds the majority in the Turkish Parliament, will elect a new secretary general in the upcoming extraordinary congress who he said will probably become the next prime minister.

When asked to comment about the possible candidates for replacement of Davutoglu, Tekin said that apart from the ministers of energy and transportation, some other speculations have been made by the media.

However he said that it is the AKP extraordinary congress on May 22 that will play a key role in choosing the next prime minister.

Asked as it seems that President Erdogan did not agree with Davutoglu’s policies, which avoided tensions with neighbors and opposed military policies, whether Davutoglu’s resignation would affect Turkey’s relations with neighboring countries, the ambassador said he did not expect a major change in Turkish foreign policy.

On the rumors about holding early elections following the resignation of Prime Minister Davutoglu, Tekin said that early elections rests on a decision by Parliament.