Ankara, April 3 (IANS) Pakistan and Turkey on Friday called on Yemen’s warring parties to reach a peaceful solution to end the ongoing crisis.
The appeal was made during a joint press press conference held by visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in the Turkish capital Ankara, Xinhua news agency reported.
Pakistan and Turkey have decided to stand with Saudi Arabia to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, Pakistan’s prime minister told the conference.
Sharif’s visit to Turkey came only a day after he called for a special session of parliament to consider whether to join the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.
The visit is mainly aimed at consulting with Turkey about the current crisis in the Middle East, said a statement by Sharif’s office before he left for Turkey.
Pakistan believed in the peaceful resolution to the crisis and wished to promote unity among the Muslim nations, said the statement.
Turkey has evacuated 55 citizens who were stranded in conflict-hit Yemen from Yemen’s Aden to Djibouti by a Turkish Naval Forces’ frigate on Friday.
On his part, the Turkish prime minister said that Ankara hailed a deal reached between Iran and the world powers on Tehran’s nuclear programme as a “positive step”.
Davutoglu also called on all parties to act responsibly in order to move the process forward.