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Iran, Turkey Enter New Era in Ties: Turkish FM
Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said here Tuesday that Tehran and Ankara have entered a new era in their political, economic and cultural relations.
Cem arrived here Monday for a two-day official visit aimed at improving bilateral relations. Speaking to local reporters, Cem said that future cooperation between the two countries would be based on solid grounds.
He noted that both Iran and Turkey represent great ancient civilizations, adding that it is quite rare in the world that borders between two neighboring countries remain untouched for over 400 years.
Referring to the ups and downs in the bilateral relations, Cem said Iranian and Turkish officials have always made efforts to find ways to lift obstacles against the expansion of bilateral relations.
Cem added that the bilateral trade ties have also entered a new phase and the trade volume is estimated to surpass 1.8 billion U.S. dollars by July when Turkey will start its natural gas imports from Iran.
He said that a Tehran-Istanbul rail link is another example of growing economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
He said that the two countries play a supplementary role for each other, as Turkey is Iran's gate to Europe and Iran provides the link between Turkey and central Asian countries.
After meeting Cem, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said Tuesday that Iran has never supported the Turkish separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey claims are based on Iranian soil.
Cem had conferred with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and other senior officials.
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