Raisi discusses prospects of long-term cooperation with Erdogan
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi receives a call from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which they discussed strategic cooperation between their two countries.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi affirms to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Tehran has a view of long-term, comprehensive relations with Ankara.
Raisi noted the importance of respecting the sovereignty of states and the security of their soil, considering that it is "the only way to establish long-term security and stability in the region."
The Iranian president also welcomed planning strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced his interest in visiting Tehran soon, as well as further cooperation between the two nations, describing Iran as a "reliable energy supplier."
Erdogan could also head to Russia soon, he announced Friday, just days after he had revealed his intention to visit Ukraine in early February in a bid to simmer down rising tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.
Turkey nearly completely relies on Russian, Azerbaijani, and Iranian gas imports. As per the latest official data, Iran alone provided Turkey with 16% of its natural gas needs in the first 10 months of 2021.
Iran and Turkey had held talks in late 2021, and they took place between Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran.
Both countries will continue high-level diplomatic talks to draft a “long-term cooperation road map” to boost ties, Amir-Abdollahian said at the time, hoping to "finalize the road map in a future visit to Tehran by Mr [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, the eminent Turkish President."
Turkey's Foreign Minister stated, on his part, Turkey's belief that "the sanctions imposed on Iran are wrong."