OREANDA-NEWS. February 05, 2010. The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari visited Ashgabat recently.

A lively exchange of views on the current state and prospects for development of Turkmen-Iranian cooperation and the regional and international issues of mutual interest took place during the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

It was emphasized that the development of versatile cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran as a friendly brotherly country, close neighbour and reliable partner was a priority of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy strategy initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Putting the Dovletabat-Sarakhs-Hangeran pipeline – the second line supplying Turkmen ‘blue fuel’ to Iran into operation this January illustrated close relationships between the two countries. As is known, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the ceremony of launching this facility, which had particular importance for both countries.

Successfully developing Turkmen-Iranian cooperation was evidenced by launching the construction of the Bereket-Etrek railroad – a section of the North-South transport corridor. The partners were unanimous that these facts testified to the profound potential for bilateral cooperation that demonstrated stable progress in new promising fields as well.

The partners discussed the issues relating to the legal status of the Caspian Sea. In this context the mutual intention to address this problem in compliance with international law norms and on the basis of good neighbourly relations and respect for the interests of all littoral states was confirmed.