Also cited at: 53272, 57524, 57526, 57527, 57528, 57534, 57536, 57538, 57540, 57541, 96000, 96002, 96377, 96378, 96475, 96684, 96685, 96686, 96687, 96884, 97095, 147935, 147936, 148033, 148242, 148243, 148244, 148245, 148443, 148654, 150203, 150205

ERDOGAN (through translator): With Iran, we have an agreement which dates back to 1639, the Kasri Sirin agreement, and we have not had any issues with Iran since then, all these years. And we have a land border of 380 kilometers. We have a lot of investment going in both directions, and our bilateral trade exceeds $10 billion. And after Russia, Iran is the second-largest supplier of natural gas to Turkey.

Of course, all of these relations lead to some sort of a strategic alliance between our two countries. And for us to step away from such a relationship would be something that would be difficult.

This special relationship could, in fact, be great opportunity to achieve a peaceful solution to these discussions. And that is why I refer to diplomacy as a way to resolve the issue, and I believe we can do it.