Iran’s relations with Turkey are very important, and consultations with Turkey on bilateral, multilateral, and regional issues are vital, Zarif told reporters on Thursday upon his arrival in Istanbul.
Pointing to the necessity of creating sustainable peace grounds in the Caucasus through the cooperation of regional countries, he stated that “during my visit to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, and Georgia, I raised this issue in detail with the high-ranking officials of those countries and in the meetings that we will have in Turkey with the brothers, we will follow up these issues to provide the areas of cooperation, especially in the area of transit and roads after the Nagorno-Karabakh incident.”
Regarding the six-way mechanism for Nagorno-Karabakh, Zarif noted that “this issue was raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the past, and I have also discussed this issue with other regional officials and I will discuss the outcome of these talks with the Turkish authorities”.
He further noted that “this issue is certainly very important as one of the methods of cooperation, especially in the field of transit, although there are some obstacles that we hope these barriers will be overcome.”
Mohammad Javad Zarif has traveled to Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, and Georgia in recent days as a diplomatic tour and held discussions with officials of those countries.
Zarif has said that his regional tour aims to help de-escalate regional tensions and boost cooperation with neighboring countries.