Iran, Turkey discuss Caucasus developments

The presidents of Iran and Turkey talked about the latest developments in the Caucasus, Syria and Afghanistan.

According to Tasnim news agency, in a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand on Friday, Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the latest regional developments, as in the Caucasus, Syria and Afghanistan.

Expressing Iran’s opposition to any mandate-style rule in the region, Raeisi said, “The principle of our policy in the region is that the fate of the countries should be decided by themselves and their national sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected.”

Referring to the support that Iran has provided for its friends and neighbors amid crises, the president underlined that Iran is a friend of its neighboring countries.

On the developments in the Caucasus, President Raeisi reaffirmed Iran’s strategic policy to welcome the liberation of the Karabakh territories and its preparation for the reconstruction of that region.

Any change in the international, historical and geopolitical borders in the region is unacceptable to Iran, the Iranian president stated.

As the two presidents talked about the agreements signed during Erdogan’s July visit to Tehran, the Turkish leader called for the implementation of the bilateral deals.

The Iranian president held separate meetings with the heads of the SCO member states during his stay in Uzbekistan.

ME