Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed hope that Tehran and Ankara would be able to resolve their differing views on the Syrian issue through increased consultations.
After a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu attended a joint press conference, IRNA reported.
Zarif described the Turkish official's visit to Tehran as the beginning of a new chapter in Tehran-Ankara relations and said, "Iran and Turkey hold common views (on various issues) and we hope that the two countries' stances on the fight against terrorism will converge."
Zarif stated, "We hope we can minimize our differences with our friends (in Turkey) on Syria through consultations. Neither Iran nor Turkey wants to see the Syrian nation to be the victims of terror and violence. And peace should be brought back to the country as soon as possible."
The top diplomat referred to the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) on Tehran's nuclear program and said, "Besides our talks with P5+1 members, we hold bilateral talks with each (P5+1) member state as we held a meeting with French officials on Tuesday and held talks with Chinese and Russian negotiators on Wednesday."
He said, "I suppose all countries and in particular the P5+1 have come to this understanding that the only way to reach a (nuclear) agreement is through recognizing Iran's rights (to access nuclear technology) and respecting our nation's will," adding, "Sanctions have proved fruitless and they have had no result but to strengthen our people's resolve."
Zarif reiterated, "We are willing to develop our nuclear program on the basis of international law and believe that the ground is totally prepared for making an agreement."
For his part, the Turkish foreign minister said, "Iran and Turkey are two key regional states which have been victims of terrorism and are the only countries that show serious resolve to combat terrorism," IRNA reported.
Cavusoglu said, "The two states' differences on some issues have never affected their bilateral relations."
Referring to the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the major powers, he said, "Turkey's policy has always been to back the negotiations and we believe in a peaceful solution to the problem."
He also touched on the crisis in Syria and said, "We share similar views with Iran on the necessity of brining peace and stability to Syria," adding, "Iran and Turkey are major countries in the region; they may have different views but are willing to cooperate to reach common ground to address the Syrian crisis."
Iran and the six major powers held a new round of talks on a final nuclear deal in Geneva on Wednesday.
