Speaking in a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, Rouhani announced Iran’s support for Turkey in the face of US sanctions and reiterated that unity and empathy of sanctioned countries is the sole way to counter unilateral and illegal US moves.
Rouhani described the relations between Iran and Turkey as two important and influential countries in the region ‘good and developing’, and stressed the need to strengthen cooperation and relations between Tehran and Ankara to deal with common threats as well as to resolve the regional problems.
Emphasizing the need to increase the level of trade and economic relations between the two countries by amending the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), Rouhani pointed to the acceleration of the implementation of the agreements inked in the 6th meeting of the Iran-Turkey Supreme Cooperation Council and Iran's readiness to host the 28th meeting of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission in near future.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani referred to the illegal behaviors and measures taken by the former US administration and emphasized that lifting sanctions imposed by the US against Iran is a legitimate and reasonable demand of the country and this issue has been repeated several times.
Iran will return to its JCPOA commitments if sanctions imposed by the United States are lifted, he said, adding, “Iran's strategy, as has been stated many times, will be action against the action.”
He then pointed to the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis that erupted between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as the situation of a ceasefire launched between the two countries and added, “Iran’s approach was to support the settlement of disputes through dialogue and negotiation.”
Welcoming the regional cooperation initiative with the participation of Iran, Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia, President Rouhani added, “This plan can have significant benefits for all parties and Iran is ready to cooperate in specialized fields with countries in the region."
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also emphasized the need for developing bilateral relations, holding joint cooperation commission between the two countries, expanding trade relations especially through the use of capacities of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) as well as effective cooperation to strengthen peace and security in the region.
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