Tehran:In a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his accompanying delegation this evening (Wednesday), Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stressed the need for boosting economic ties between Ankara and Tehran, and described as very important agreement and cooperation between the two countries on the key issues of the Muslim world. He said the referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region serves the interests of the US and the Zionist regime, reiterating, “The US and foreign powers are unreliable and seek to create a new Israel in the region.”
Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the serious issues in the world of Islam from East Asia and Myanmar to North Africa, saying, “If Iran and Turkey reach agreement on an issue in the face of these problems, that agreement will certainly materialize and both countries and the world of Islam will benefit from it.”
Highlighting the need for the development of economic cooperation between the two countries, he added, “Unfortunately, although numerous potentialities exist, the level of economic cooperation has not improved and there must be more efforts and actions than before in this regard.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution expressed satisfaction with Iran-Turkey cooperation on the during the Astana talks and the improving trend of Syrian developments due to such cooperation, adding, “Of course, the issue of Daesh and Takfiris will not end in this way and the resolution of this issue requires a genuine and long-term plan.”
He described the holding of the referendum in Kurdistan as betrayal to the region and a threat to its future and pointed to the long-term consequences of this move for the neighbors, reiterating, “In confronting this event, Iran and Turkey must take every possible measure and the Iraqi government must also seriously make decisions and take action on this issue.”
Ayatollah Khamenei described as very important Iran and Turkey’s “cooperation, consultations and uniform and serious political and economic decisions” in countering this issue and reiterated, “The standpoint of the US and European governments on this issue is entirely different from that of Iran and Turkey and the US would like to always have at its disposal an element of harassment against Iran and Turkey; therefore, the US, the Europeans and their stances can by no means be trusted.”
Addressing the Turkish president, Ayatollah Khamenei added, “As you pointed out, it is the Zionist regime [of Israel] that benefits from the recent events in the first place, and after that, the Americans benefit from the recent incidents.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the efforts of the enemies to keep Iran and Turkey engaged and distance the two countries from the important issues of the region, adding, “Foreign powers and particularly the Zionist regime are seeking to create a new Israel in the region and develop a means to create divisions and conflicts.”
He reiterated, “Serious and swift decisions must be made through a long-term and strategic view toward the recent issues, and this issue must be confronted with a uniform action.”
In the meeting, which was also attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the Turkish president emphasized the need for the forging of strong unity between Iran and Turkey in the region, saying, “We managed to reach a conclusion in the negotiations with the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding Syria and Iraq.”
The president of Turkey pointed to the need for joint and simultaneous measures between Iran, Turkey and Iraq on the issue of Iraq’s Kurdistan, saying, “According to irrefutable documents and evidence, the US and Israel have reached a general agreement on the issue of Kurdistan and Barzani (Iraq’s Kurdish leader) made an unforgivable mistake by holding a referendum.”
Stating that apart from Israel, no one else has recognized Iraq’s Kurdistan, Erdogan said, “The neighbours of Iraq certainly cannot accept this decision; therefore, the officials of Iraq’s Kurdistan cannot take a single step after this and will have no way out.”
Saying that the US, France and Israel want to partition the countries in the Middle East and exploit the situation for their own benefit, the president of Turkey reiterated, “They have hatched the same plot for Syria, and Iran and Turkey’s unity and uniform decision is very important in that regard.”
Stressing the need for upgrading mutual trade to 30 billion dollars, he daid, “There are a lot of things that we can do through cooperation with each other, although some will not be pleased by this cooperation and will try to stop these positive moves.”
The president of Turkey expressed hope by holding annual meetings of the strategic council in Iran and Turkey, decisions and agreements will seriously become operational.