President Stresses Iran-Turkey Collaborations on Regional Peace
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani emphasized that cooperation with Turkey should focus on peace and stability in the region, particularly in Syria and Iraq.
“Consultations between Iran and Turkey would serve the region’s peace and stability, and today, when the region is in delicate conditions, expansion of cooperation and consultations between Tehran and Ankara could be influential in settlement of problems,” President Rouhani said at a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Tehran on Saturday.
The president underscored that cooperation among major regional powers will help resolve the conflicts in Iraq and Syria without a need for any foreign power.
Highlighting the constructive role that neighbors in the region should play to resolve the conflicts, President Rouhani called for “protection of the territorial integrity and national unity in Iraq and Syria, formation of governments in those countries on the basis of democracy and people’s votes, preventing the killing of people and destruction of infrastructures, and helping the displaced and injured people to return home.”
Iran and Turkey share common views on major regional principles, the president added.
For his part, the visiting Turkish diplomat said preservation of territorial integrity and national unity in Iraq and Syria will benefit Iran, Turkey and regional peace and stability.
Cavusoglu also stressed the need for a ceasefire in Syria, establishment of national unity in the Arab country, political settlement of the conflicts, and concerted action in the fight against terrorist groups.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
Some 470,000 Syrians have been killed throughout the five years of bloodshed, 4.8 million have fled the country, and 6.6 million have become internally displaced by the violence.
