In an interview with Mehr News Agency on the sidelines of the 24th Iran Media Expo which was held in Tehran last week, the Turkish envoy stressed, “Unfortunately, Islamic countries have not taken any effective action to stop the war in Gaza.”

Saying that the meetings held by Islamic states regarding the Gaza war led to no results, Kirlangic added, “The people of Gaza are facing the crisis of genocide and migration.”

“Of course, the developments in Gaza have caused a global awakening. Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people in recent months have caused its political isolation in the international community. As Islamic countries, we should learn from this issue,” he added.

The Turkish senior diplomat went on to say that Iran and Turkey are two countries that have advanced favorable diplomacy regarding stopping the war in Gaza. “But these actions are not enough. We must take more effective measures,” he emphasized.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he touched upon the bilateral relations between Tehran and Ankara, saying, “Iran and Turkey have long-standing relations. These relationships date back hundreds of years. The people of Turkey and Iran have a lot in common in terms of customs and traditions and in terms of cultural heritage. In addition to this, the commercial relations between the two countries are ongoing from the past to the present day. I am sure these relations will continue.”

“As the Turkish Embassy in Tehran, we will do our best to develop the relations between the two countries. I hope the level of relations between Tehran and Ankara will expand. Our colleagues in both Iran and Turkey are trying to promote friendly relations between the two countries,” the ambassador said.

He further stressed that it is possible to raise the volume of Iran-Turkey trade to $30 billion by the efforts of the two countries’ officials.

He stressed that Iran and Tukey had favorable trade relations before the outbreak of COVID-19, but the level of economic relations between them decreased since the pandemic started. “We will try to increase the business relationship,” Kirlangic concluded.

Interview by Azar Mahdavan

MP/6033964