The comprehensive plan for long-term cooperation signed between Iran and Turkey this week was a realistic document devised based on the two countries’ capacities, an Iranian diplomat said.
“This document has been drawn up with the aim of deepening and supporting the mechanisms of interwoven relations between the two countries,” Mohammad Farazmand, Iran’s ambassador to Turkey said in an interview with ISNA.
He added that no previous partnership plan between Tehran and Ankara have remained unimplemented so far and collaboration has at times happened before officials documents were signed between the governments.
“Iran and Turkey have been two close and at the same time reliable and historical partners,” he said.
During Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Tehran this week, the two countries held the seventh meeting of the Turkey-Iran High-Level Cooperation Council and signed eight memorandums of understanding, including the comprehensive plan for long-term cooperation.
During the meeting, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed the need to move toward $30 billion trade per year.
Farazmand said the target is not out of reach, as the two neighbors have already experienced $20 billion worth of trade ties at a point.
The 2021 level of bilateral trade stands at $11 billion as provided by Iranian sources, and $8 billion as given by the Turkish side, according to the ambassador.
He said such numbers are not small given the fact that oil, which has been a key commercial item, is now excluded.
“This is not a small number in conditions that the United States’ illegal sanctions are in place, global trade is experiencing a recession due to the coronavirus disease and the crisis in Ukraine has arisen,” he said.
Iran has been under sweeping American sanctions since 2018 when the US unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Farazmand said Iran and Turkey’s economies are complementary to each other, since Turkey needs Iran’s energy and petrochemicals and at the same time is the exporter of goods that Iran needs.
“The two countries specifically use each other’s territories for the transit of goods from east to west and vice versa,” he said.
Iran is the best route for Turkish trucks to move toward Central Asia, Afghanistan and the east, while Turkey is a suitable and comfortable path for Iranian trucks which carry freight to Europe, he explained.
Successful Mechanism
In Tehran, the Turkish president, also attended the seventh round of discussions on the ongoing civil war in Syria and the fight against terrorism within the Astana format with his Iranian and Russian counterparts.
The peace process was launched in January 2017 at the initiative of the three countries and continues to be used as a platform where political and humanitarian issues are discussed.
Farazmand said the trilateral effort has so far been the most successful multilateral mechanism to reduce tensions in Syria and the only initiative that has remained active while similar processes have become dormant.
Cooperation between Iran, Turkey and Russia can also help neutralize and counter the effects of sanctions with which all three countries are engaged in some way, he noted.
Referring to Iran’s opposition to Erdogan’s potential military action in Syria, Farazmand said such stance do not constitute any insoluble difference between the two neighbors.
Erdogan has threatened to launch a new offensive in northern Syria against Kurdish fighters which Ankara regards as “terrorists”.
The Iranian diplomat said such conflict of views between countries are normal, but holding dialogue about the issue indicates those countries’ “healthy ties”.
“We understand Turkey’s security concerns about certain terrorist groups, but have stated explicitly that we are against non-peaceful and military methods to address issues between Turkey and Syria.”
