Washington, 10 December (WashingtonTV)—In remarks published on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel against using his country’s airspace in order to conduct operations against Iran.

Erdogan denied reports that Israel had entered Turkey’s airspace for espionage purposes, but said that if such a thing happened, the consequences would be dire.

Israel “will receive a response equal to that of an earthquake,” he said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

He urged Israeli leaders to refrain from using the relationship they have with Turkey “to wage aggression on a third party.”

Ankara would not be a neutral party and stand aside, he asserted.

During talks in Washington with US President Barack Obama on Monday, Erdogan said that his country was ready to mediate between the West and Iran on the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.

He also said that diplomacy was the only way to solve the dispute.

In an interview with the US television channel PBS, Erdogan reiterated that view, saying that diplomacy rather than economic sanctions should be pursued to resolve the row.

There “could be problems” if measures such as sanctions were taken against Iran without seeking a diplomatic solution, he said on the Charlie Rose show, according to the Bloomberg news network.

The prime minister, whose country has improved ties with Iran in recent years, called Tehran’s nuclear program “peaceful”.

Iran has so far spurned a nuclear fuel deal brokered by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, aimed at easing Western concerns over Tehran’s enrichment program.

The United States and its European partners have warned the Islamic Republic that they would seek tougher sanctions if Tehran did not reverse course on its nuclear program by the end of the year.

Sources: Jerusalem Post, Bloomberg news network