Larijani: All Potentials Must Be Used For Expanding Iran-Turkey Ties

Tehran, March 8, IRNA – Parliament Speaker said here Wednesday that efforts must be made to all potentials to expand Tehran-Ankara cooperation in bilateral, regional and international fields. According to the International and Ceremonial Affairs Office of Islamic Parliament, Majlis, Ali Larijani added in a meeting with Turkey’s Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin in the meeting at the Iranian Parliament, “Friendly relations between both countries is not merely based on neighborhood of Iran and Turkey, but because of heartfelt closeness and shared cultural and religious values. Larijani said that shared stands of Iran and Turkey over regional issues are many adding, “Both the Iranian nation and the Iranian leaders believe our country must have broad relations with Turkey.” Elsewhere in his talks Larijani said that the aliens should not be allowed to take advantage of the regional developments against the interests of the Islamic world, arguing, “The world powers have got worried about the increased power of the Islamic Ummah in various technological, political and economic fields.” Larijani also expressed satisfaction over the growing volume of the two countries’ trade in recent years, announcing the Islamic Parliament’s readiness for assisting in the process of implementing the achieved agreements. According to the report the Turkish Justice Minster Sadullah Ergin, too, said in the meeting that Iran and Turkey are two great countries in the region, emphasizing that close cooperation between the two countries can lead to prevalence of peace and stability in the region. Pointing out that there is no major difference of opinion, or problematic matter in the relations between the two countries, he reiterated, “The regional crises must be tackled and solved by regional countries, such as Iran and Turkey, and the other sides must not be allowed to take the lead of initiating solutions.” He added, “We will also not allow some individuals to aggrandize some trivial matters.” The Turkish justice minister also presented a report on the strengthening process of judiciary cooperation between the two countries, adding, “Judiciary cooperation would be good support for the expansion of comprehensive relations between Iran and Turkey. Earlier in the day, the Iranian Justice Minister Morteza Bakhtiari lauded the age-old friendly ties and cooperation between Tehran and Ankara, and praised the stances taken by Turkey towards Iran, especially in recent years, in a meeting with his Turkish counterpart. “The different stances that have been taken by Turkey towards Iran, especially in the recent years are deserved to be praised,' Bakhtiari said at his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Sadullah Ergin on Wednesday. 'We are glad that cultural and political relations and economic interactions between the two countries have grown and reached an acceptable level,' he stated, adding that the two sides had over $15 billion of trade exchanges in 2011 and plan to increase the value of their trade ties to $30 billion by 2015. He further lauded Turkey's independent stance in supporting Iran's right of access to peaceful nuclear technology. Iran and Turkey have in recent years increased their cooperation in all the various fields of economy, security, trade, education, energy and culture. The two sides have exchanged several politico-economic delegations during the last few months. After the West intensified its sanctions on Iranian oil and economy, Turkey announced that it is not obliged to follow the West's decision on imposing a ban on Iranian oil supplies. In January, the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ruled out the possibility of Ankara’s complying with the West's unilateral sanctions against Iran, and added that Turkey is currently trying to facilitate talks between Tehran and Western nations on Iran's nuclear program. Courtesy: Fars News Agency for the background and news on two justice ministers’ talks./end