“Just by looking at a map we would see how important these two countries are for one another,” Tekin told a conference titled “Turkey’s Middle East policies” at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University on Monday.
“National interest is the main element of international politics,” he said. “But it is not possible to say this for Turkey and Iran because our interests are common and if we have a competition, it is in line with the interests of both countries.”
He further pointed to the problems facing the Middle East and said, “Trust is what we need the most in the region.”
“It seems difficult to solve problems without settling the (trust) issue,” he was quoted as saying by the Anadolu Agency.
“In principle we want the region’s problems to be solved by the countries of this region,” Tekin said.
“Every problem which can’t be solved becomes deeper,” he said.
“Our vision for the region is to ensure permanent peace, stability, and economic development.
“If we can achieve this, the future will be much brighter,” he went on to say.