Iran urges closer cooperation with Turkey over regional issues

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for closer cooperation between his country and Turkey as a means to the long term interests of the Middle East region, Tehran Times daily reported on Friday.

"I hope we would be able to eradicate terrorism through cooperation between the Iranian and Turkish governments in order to help the regional people feel more peace," Rouhani said in a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

"It is our objective to fight all the terrorist groups in the region," he said, adding that "I hope we would witness a relative stability in Syria and the region through cooperation between Iran and Turkey."

He said efforts should be made to safeguard the truce which took effect in Syria on Dec. 30.

The fresh talks between the Syrian government and the opposition groups to settle the crisis in the Arab state will begin in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 23.

source: Xinhua