Russia-Turkey row against region interests: Leader’s aide

A senior Iranian official says the ongoing tensions between Moscow and Ankara will not serve the interests of regional countries, urging all-out efforts to help end the row.

Both Turkey and Russia “are our neighbors and we do not want to see any tension between neighboring countries, with whom we have friendly relations,” Ali-Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said in Tehran on Saturday.

Velayati, who was speaking to reporters following a meeting with senior Turkish Shia cleric, Sheikh Salahuddin Ozgunduz, added that tensions between Russia and Turkey will serve the interests of neither of the two countries nor those of other regional states.

Tensions between Ankara and Moscow have been escalating since Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border. On November 24, Turkey shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber with two pilots aboard, claiming the fighter jet had violated the Turkish airspace. One of the pilots lost his life following the attack while the other was rescued in a Syrian army operation.

Moscow has dismissed Ankara’s claims, saying the plane was targeted in Syria’s airspace. Following the incident, Moscow imposed a number of punitive measures against Ankara, including restrictions on Turkish foods imports, a ban on tourist travel to Turkey, an embargo on hiring Turkish citizens in Russia and a ban on Turkish organizations’ activities in Russia.

Velayati further expressed hope that Iran and Turkey will improve cooperation with other regional countries, including Iraq and Syria, to thwart US and Zionist-led plots aimed at disintegrating Muslim states.

“If there is a difference among regional countries or Muslim states, it should be settled through dialog and [we] should not interfere in each other’s internal affairs,” he said.

The senior Iranian official also emphasized that nations in the region should not allow trans-regional countries to meddle in their affairs and stressed the importance of reinforcing unity and solidarity among Muslim nations.