G7 Urges Iran to Resume Diplomacy over Nuclear Program

FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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G7 Urges Iran to Resume Diplomacy over Nuclear Program

FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Foreign ministers of leading Western democracies warned on Thursday of the threat from Iran's growing use of arbitrary detention and foreign assassination attempts as a tool of coercion, a final draft statement seen by Reuters showed.

The G7 nations, comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, said in a statement that Tehran was a principle source of instability in the Middle East and urged it to resume diplomacy over its nuclear program.

Representatives of China, Russia and Iran called Friday for an end to US sanctions on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program and a restart to multinational talks on the issue.

The three countries' meeting was the latest attempt to broach the matter and come after US President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader in an attempt to jumpstart talks.

The letter, which hasn’t been published, was offered as Trump levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign that holds out the possibility of military action while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached.



Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
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Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria, Erdogan's office said on Sunday.

He told Trump that Türkiye supports his "decisive and direct initiatives" to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Türkiye will continue to strive for a "just and lasting peace", the statement said.

Erdogan also spoke of "the importance of jointly contributing to the lifting of sanctions on Syria to restore stability, make the new administration functional and support normalization," the statement said, adding that this would enable Syrians to return to their homeland.

Türkiye also expects steps from the United States regarding the fight against terrorism, taking into account Türkiye’s interests, it said.

In the battle against ISIS in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Türkiye regards as a terrorist group. Türkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.

Erdogan said it was necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalize Ankara's F-16 procurement process and its re-participation in the F-35 program in order to develop defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and the United States.

Ankara's past purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems prompted US sanctions and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.