Iran, Turkey have cooperation on Syria, regional issues, says Rouhani

Tehran and Ankara have similar political views regarding the region and the world and the two countries are very close, Iran Press news agency quoted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as saying on Saturday.

"Tehran and Ankara are together in the great fight against terrorism and share similar points of view on development of bilateral ties," the Iranian president said during a meeting with new Turkish ambassador to Tehran, Derya Örs.

Highlighting that ties between Tehran and Ankara are closer than 40 years ago, Rouhani underlined that two countries could cooperate in bringing peace and stability to the region.

"Today, Iran, Russia and Turkey have political cooperation with each other on a very important regional issue, namely Syria,’’ Rouhani added.

Rouhani’s statements arrive as the leaders of Iran, Turkey and Russia prepare to discuss Syria on Feb. 14 in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The countries are set to discuss their roles in the region as the U.S. prepares for a withdrawal from the war-torn country following a surprising announcement of the decision last month.