Tasnim – The foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey held talks on a range of issues at a meeting in Antalya on Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu met in Turkey’s coastal city of Antalya on Saturday morning.

The two top diplomats held talks before the opening of the 24th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Zarif and Cavusoglu discussed issues of mutual interest, including Tehran-Ankara bilateral ties, regional developments, and cooperation between Iran and Turkey in the Economic Cooperation Organization.

Tehran and Ankara have ramped up efforts in recent years to boost bilateral trade, setting a $30-billion annual trade target and signing several agreements to enhance cooperation in various areas.

Turkey is one of Iran’s major trading partners in the region which has come under pressure from Washington to stop working with Tehran under the US’ anti-Iran sanctions.

Turkey has emphasized that the US demands to stop purchasing oil and gas from Iran would go unheeded by Ankara.