Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, today, Wednesday, in the capital, Ankara, a number of bilateral and regional issues, foremost of which is the rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus, combating terrorism, the effects of the war in Ukraine, and the situation in the Palestinian territories.

In the joint press conference, the two ministers confirmed that they discussed strengthening economic cooperation, combating terrorism and the effects of the war in Ukraine.

Abdullahian said that Iran supports the rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus, calling for the return of relations between the two countries to their normal state, while Cavusoglu said that Iran has expressed its desire to participate in the tripartite meeting with the Syrian side and Turkey.

The Iranian foreign minister stressed that Turkey's security is part of Iran's security, and said that they discussed ways of cooperation in this matter.

Regarding the sanctions on his country, the Iranian minister said that Tehran does not see the impact of Western sanctions on it and that it is able to take measures regarding it.

Abdullahian said that the extremist Israeli government has complicated the living conditions of the Palestinians, stressing that the occupation is working to stir up violence in Palestine.

He added that the escalation by "the Zionist entity increases the threat and instability in the region."

Syrian crisis

For his part, the Turkish Foreign Minister announced that Russia had proposed holding a preparatory meeting for a four-way meeting between Turkey and Syria, with the participation of Iran.

Cavusoglu added that the Astana track, which was launched in 2017, is "the only track that has been working so far on the issue of the Syrian crisis," while the Iranian minister welcomed - in this regard - the four-way dialogue formula that includes Turkey, Syria, Russia and Iran.

With regard to the earthquake that recently struck Turkey and Syria, the Turkish minister said that his country moved to deliver international aid to Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, pointing out that 475 aid trucks crossed into Syria through Turkish territory.

Cavusoglu said that politicians took advantage of the opening of crossings with Syria after the earthquake to promote the presence of a new wave of Syrian refugees.