Turkmenistan Supporting Iran’s N. Rights

09 February 2015 | 18:38 Code : 1944090 Latest Headlines

(FNA)- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Rahimpour underlined that senior Turkmen officials have voiced their support for Tehran's right to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

"… Turkmenistan supports Iran's peaceful nuclear activities and this was quite evident in my bilateral talks with senior Turkmen officials," Rahimpour told FNA on Sunday.

Rahimpour is in Ashgabat to hold talks with senior Turkmen officials over expansion of bilateral ties.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister pointed to his talks with Turkmen officials, and said, "We had good talks on other issues as well, such as the Caspian Sea regime … and it seems that the two sides, specially the two countries' presidents are much interested in regional cooperation."

He noted that the two sides also discussed President Hassan Rouhani's upcoming visit to Ashgabat.

Tehran and Ashgabat have had official diplomatic relations since Turkmenistan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, with Iran becoming the first nation to recognize Turkmenistan as an independent country.

In September, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani underlined that Tehran and Ashgabat have common stances on regional issues.

Larijani made the remarks upon his return from a three-day visit to Turkmenistan.

The Iranian parliament speaker pointed to the good parliamentary relations between Iran and Turkmenistan, and said during his visit, “We talked about sensitive regional issues with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Turkmen parliament speaker; and we have common stances on combating terrorism …"

Larijani pointed to Syria’s developments, and said, “We discussed Syria’s issues with Turkmen officials because a group of warmongers want to create a crisis in Syria through a unilateral attempt."

"We also talked about bilateral issues with Turkmen officials, parts of which pertained to economic issues. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh had several meetings with Turkmen energy officials and we reached agreements with Turkmen officials,” he added.

Larijani visited Turkmenistan at the invitation of his Turkmen counterpart. He headed a high-ranking delegation during the visit.

tags: turkmen iranian