Istanbul meeting, a sign of growing ties between Tehran, Ankara and Baku

Tabnak – Despite having different positions on a number of regional and international issues, relations between Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan have been in an ascending trend over the past several years. The latest meeting between the foreign minister of the three countries was aimed at further coordinating efforts in order to achieve common interests.

Iranian, Turkish, and Azerbaijani foreign ministers held their sixth trilateral meeting on Thursday in Istanbul to discuss matters of common interest. The meeting was held among Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey, and Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan at the historic Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Tuesday.

In a joint press conference after the closed meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister said Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan have similar stances on developments in the Middle East and are determined to strengthen joint cooperation.

"Cooperation among Tehran, Ankara and Baku is very important for development of the three countries, development of the region, the improvement of living conditions and the promotion of regional peace and security which is unfortunately facing with multiple challenges," Press TV quoted Zarif as saying.

He expressed hope that regional issues, particularly problems of the Syrian, Palestinian and Yemeni peoples, would be solved peacefully. Zarif said, "We have always emphasized that regional issues should be settled based on [the principles of] international law and through peaceful methods."

The Turkish foreign minister, for his part, said Tehran, Ankara and Baku oppose unilateral measures on regional issues and believed that common and multilateral decisions must be made in this regard.

Cavusoglu called for the continuation of joint cooperation to promote stability, peace and security in the region and said trilateral economic ties would also serve the interests of all regional states.

He further said Turkey has continued its cooperation with Iran after the United States withdrawal from a 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement signed between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries. The Turkish foreign minister emphasized that his country is holding consultations with European countries on the continuation of cooperation with Iran.

Finally, the Azerbaijani foreign minister said his country called for the expansion of cooperation with Iran and Turkey in trade and transportation sectors.

The last meeting among the Iranian, Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers was held in the Azeri capital of Baku in December 2017, and the one before that in the northern Iranian city of Ramsar in April 2016.

Earlier reports had said the meeting in Istanbul would be focused on a wide range of economic, commercial, and technical issues. In the economic area, the ministers were expected to address such issues as transit, transportation, energy, and customs.