ANKARA (AFP) — President Barack Obama has said that Iran and the 5+1 group (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) “can move forward” to settle a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program and that he remained “committed to a diplomatic resolution” of the issue.

“Iran has an opportunity to do that in the P5+1 talks in Turkey in January... There are ways we can move forward, but all parties must be prepared to take constructive approaches,” Obama told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet in an interview published Sunday.
Obama told the newspaper that U.S. ties with Turkey are “more important than ever” despite differences over Iran.
“Our shared interests, our shared values... undergird our relationship even when we disagree,” Obama said in written response to questions by Turkey's mass-selling Hurriyet newspaper.
In June, Turkey irked the United States as it voted against fresh sanctions slapped on Iran by the UN Security Council, insisting that a nuclear fuel swap deal it hammered out with Tehran, together with Brazil, should be given a chance.
Its “no” vote came atop a severe crisis with one-time ally Israel after nine Turks were killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound activist ship.
Obama sought to downplay Turkey's reluctance to back a tougher line on Iran, its eastern neighbor, which has sparked concern that NATO's sole Muslim-majority member is sliding away from the West.
“As with our other close allies and friends, we will sometimes disagree, as was the case on the vote on Iran sanctions in the UN Security Council.”