Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu: Turkey in touch to ease tensions between with Iran and US

TurkishForeign MinisterMevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that Turkey will put in efforts to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the United States and had been in contact with both parties after the US forceskilled the Iranian military commander the previous week.

Since the USkilling of Qasem Soleimani, Tehran's most prominent military commander, Cavusoglu said he has held phone calls with his Iranian and UScounterparts to discuss it.

Asked if Turkey would be open to mediate between Tehran and Washington, Cavusoglu said Turkey would support any steps to ease tensions in the region. "We will continue to work with other countries to solve this problem or de-escalate tensions in the coming days," he said.

The issue of Iran-UStensions would be on the agenda during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Turkey on Wednesday, he said, adding President Tayyip Erdogan had discussed the issue with Iranian, French, Iraqi and Qatari counterparts.

"Our common concern is Iraq turning into a conflict zone for other, third-party countries. This is a very serious risk for Iraq and our region," Cavusoglu said. "Therefore, we will continue to do whatever we can to reduce the cycle of violence."

The United States last week killed Soleimani, the architect of Iran's growing influence in the Middle East, in an overnight attack in Baghdad authorized by President Donald Trump.

Watch:Boris Johnson urges Trump to de-escalate tension with Iran

Iran has promised vengeance and on Friday condemned Trump as a "terrorist in a suit."

Iraq's parliament called on Sunday for the USand other foreign military forces to leave amid a growing backlash against the Soleimani's killing, which has heightened fears of a wider Middle East conflict.

Cavusoglu said the parliament's decision was not binding, adding that Erdogan had urged his Iraqi counterpart to act with reason.

"The killing of Soleimani didn't just shift the balances in Iraq, it also did so in Iran. This may lead to radical groups gaining strength," he said.

Cavusoglu said he had also discussed the issue with his Russian, British, Qatari and Pakistani counterparts, and with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.