MNA – In a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, the Iranian foreign minister said that the transfer of natural gas to Turkey will resume by the end of the current month.

"Coronavirus pandemic showed that the whole world is interdependent and that unilateral policies cannot be the solution to international problems," said Zarif in the press conference after his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu on Monday.

"Coronavirus showed that the greatest apparent powers are powerless against a virus and cannot deal with it, and the idea that some can run the world is a misconception," he added.

Stating that unilateral policies and sanctions have shown their nature and reality, he said, "Unfortunately, the United States has a very bad record during coronavirus pandemic. It continued its sanctions against Iran with the utmost intensity and with the aim of hitting Iran."

Saying that the pandemic showed that the world needs to always have a dialogue, he added, "Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there have been fewer face-to-face conversations between us and Turkish officials for several months."

"I am pleased and thankful that with the efforts of the Turkish government, the transfer of natural gas to Turkey will resume by the end of the current month, and Turkish people and industry can benefit from Iranian gas in the summer," Zarif said.

Iranian diplomat noted, "We talked about bilateral trade tariffs and various issues of economic cooperation."

"We also agreed to hold the Astana Summit virtually in the coming weeks and then to hold a face-to-face meeting in Tehran as soon as possible," he added.

Zarif went on to say that the two sides also discussed on the latest developments in Afghanistan.

He also said, "Iran and Turkey are pursuing a peaceful solution for Yemen," adding, "We also discussed on the latest issues in Libya. The two countries share common views on Libya, and we hope that the suffering of the Libyan people will end as soon as possible."

"The dialogue between Iran and Turkey is in everyone's interest, and we need to expand that dialogue with our neighbors at the regional level so that we can work together to combat instability, extremism, and terrorism," FM Zarif said.

Referring to the cancelation of flights between two countries due to the coronavirus, he noted, "The direct flights are to be resumed in the near future."