...

Iran has never left path of friendship with Turkey – Iranian MP

Politics Materials 8 April 2015 17:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.8

By Fatih Karimov - Trend:

Iran has never left the path of friendship with Turkey, Javad Jahangirzadeh, the member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told Trend on April 8.

Referring to recent visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iran, he said that the visit took place amid a tough political situation.

First of all, Erdogan's comments about Iran were sharply criticized by Iranian forums, Turkey's support from the Saudi invasion of Yemen was censured, said Jahangirzadeh.

He said that meanwhile, Turkish officials are overwhelmed by their past actions in regional developments and they are not so inclined to pay attention and accept new developments.

"They are obsessed with their past imagination regarding Syria. These all show that the situation has totally changed in the region. So, the visit was very important in this respect," he said.

Iran has never changed the path of friendship with Turkey, he said, adding that Turkey is aware of the issue.

Jahangirzadeh said it is necessary for Iran and Turkey to keep their amicable ties.

"I think Erdogan's comments about the ISIS and the need to bolster economic ties using national currencies can be fruitful for the two countries," Jahangirzadeh said. "Despite different viewpoints in some regional and international issues, Iran and Turkey are determined to enhance cooperation in all areas."

Back in March, Erdogan accused the Islamic Republic of trying to monopolize the Middle East by seeking a Shia-dominated hegemony in neighboring countries.

Following Erdogan's accusations, on April 6 some 65 Iranian MPs asked President Hassan Rouhani in a letter to caution his Turkish counterpart against his anti-Iranian remarks.

Also, 50 lawmakers signed a letter asking Rouhani to prevent Erdogan from entering Iran.

Erdogan paid a visit to Iran on April 7, heading a high-ranking delegation which included a number of Turkish ministers.

In a meeting in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Erdogan said trade between the two countries "lost momentum" in recent years due to sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic.

Latest

Latest