Iran, Turkey agree on roadmap for long-term cooperation

Stating that Iran and Turkey agreed to draw a roadmap for long-term cooperation, the Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian said that it will be finalized in the future visit of the Turkish President Erdogan to Tehran.

This was stated by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday, the Iranian Mehr news agency reports.

He expressed hope that in the future visit of Turkish President Erdogan to Iran, the two countries will finalize the roadmap for long-term cooperation between Tehran and Ankara.

"We agreed to start our diplomatic talks on the provisions of drawing a roadmap for long-term cooperation between the two countries, and we hope that this document will be signed in the presence of the two presidents during the forthcoming visit of Turkish President Erdogan to Tehran," Amir-Abdollahian said.

Stating that the two sides had useful discussions on a variety of regional and international issues in the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister said, "Latest developments in Afghanistan, the need for expansion of stability, security and peace in the West Asian region and neighborhood policy of the two countries of Iran and Turkey were among the topics discussed during the meeting."

The two administrations based in Tehran and Ankara are pragmatic, he said, adding that they should quickly remove any possible obstacles to the two countries' relations.

Amir-Abdollahian also pointed to the historical and friendly relation between Iran and Turkey, saying, "The development of economic and trade cooperation, the increase of cooperation in the field of energy, the facilitation of transit traffic, the strengthening of cross-border trade and consular issues were discussed in the meeting, and we do not see any serious obstacles to accelerate the cooperation."

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, for his part, said that the two sides discussed the preparation of the 7th High Cooperation Council between Iran and Turkey, adding that based on the proposal of the Iranian side, a long-term roadmap between the two countries will be prepared and signed on the sidelines of this council.

"We also talked about various issues, including illegal immigration, smuggling and border issues," he added.

"At present, the two countries are cooperating not only on bilateral issues but also on regional issues such as Afghanistan, Iraq and stability in the South Caucasus region, and we are ready to cooperate with Iran within the proposed 3+3 framework.

He also pointed to the resumption of Vienna talks, saying that Turkey believes that the sanctions imposed on Iran are cruel. "Those who have left the JCPOA must return to the deal and lift the unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran."