Sep 5, 2023, 6:15 PM

By: Payman Yazdani

Tehran, Ankara; from bilateral, regional coop. to disputes

Tehran, Ankara; from bilateral, regional coop. to disputes

TEHRAN, Sep. 05 (MNA) –It seems that in the post-election era, Turkey has focused its diplomacy on strengthening the country's relations with neighbors and regional countries. To this end, Ankara has taken significant steps.

The country’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan's visit to Tehran can be considered in line with Ankara’s efforts to materialize this goal. 

Regarding bilateral relations, Turkey and Iran have always sought to develop and expand cooperation in different fields, especially in the energy and trade sectors. In this regard, the foreign ministers of the two countries once again emphasized setting a target of 30 billion dollars for their bilateral trade.

For this purpose, Amir-Abdollahian considered the update of the preferential trade document of the two countries important. Touching upon the transit routes, the top Iranian diplomat stressed that the transit routes are not a place for competition, but rather are a path for expanding cooperation between Tehran and Ankara.

Also, considering the massive volume of traffic of the two countries' nationals between Iran and Turkey, Amir-Abdollahian called for stronger consular cooperation.

Among the other bilateral issues raised during Hakan Fidan's visit to Tehran was Iran's emphasis on its fair and historical use of the water rights from the Aras River, which according to him, the Turkish side has emphasized that it has no plans to limit Iran's water share.

Regarding regional cooperation, since Turkey and Iran are considered two influential regional powers, any convergence between them can lead to extensive impacts on the region and its surrounding areas.

One of the topics raised in the regional cooperation between Tehran and Ankara was confronting terrorist and armed groups in the region, which are not only a threat to the security of the two countries, but also a threat to regional peace and stability. What is clear is that overcoming this issue depends on the joint cooperation and interaction between Iran, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.

Considering the fact that Hakan Fidan's visit to Tehran took place after his meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, and after Iran's Foreign Minister's visit to Damascus, it is possible that the relations between Ankara and Damascus will improve gradually with Iran's mediation. According to the statements of the Syrian and Iranian authorities, this issue, to a large extent, depends on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the territory of Syria.

One of the other regional issues discussed by the parties was the holding of a trilateral economic meeting between Tehran, Riyadh, and Ankara. Undoubtedly, the development of relations between Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey can play an important role in providing security and stability in the West Asian region and even beyond the region.

Despite the fact that Iran and Turkey share many common views on bilateral and regional issues, the two sides have different opinions regarding the creation of the Zangezur Corridor. During the recent visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister to Iran, the Iranian officials, while welcoming all-round cooperation with Ankara, once again emphasized that Tehran is against any change in the borders of its neighbors, as well as any change in the geopolitical map of the region and creation of the corridor.

The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the creation of such a corridor will drain the geopolitical capacities of the region in favor of NATO and the Zionist regime. Because the Zangezur Corridor can provide NATO with access to the Caspian Sea.

News ID 205684

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