Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu declared today that renewed Turkish-Iranian ties will “become the backbone of regional stability” in the Middle East.

“In my point of view, when Turkey and Iran join hands, this will not only benefit both countries, but also become the backbone of regional stability,” Davutoğlu said, pointing to the potential of further cooperation in energy. “Turkey’s annual energy demand is $60 billion. Turkey is a corridor country, Iran is a producer country. If we fuse both potentials, Turkey could become the corridor of energy provider Iran,” Davutoğlu said. He also added that closer ties would also have a major impact on the sectarian divide in the Middle East. “At a place and time where some try to instigate sectarian conflicts, the dialogue between Iran and Turkey is the most important dialogue in the region,” Davutoğlu said. “It’s now time for cooperation. The dialogue between two regional powers such as Turkey and Iran who share an historic relationship will not only enable our region to gain stability, but also prevent the negative effects of conflicts.”

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of which Davutoglu is a part, and which is led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attempted in the mid-2000s to forge close ties with Tehran. As late as 2009, Erdogan was describing Iran and its then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in glowing terms. Turkish media also conveyed analysis today to the effect that Turkey’s metals trade with Iran, especially its gold trade, “may hike dramatically” as Western sanctions were eased. For his part Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan expressed hopes that even the six-month interim agreement between the P5+1 and Iran would see an increase in Turkish exports to Iran. Turkey’s regional influence has been in free fall – Egypt this week expelled Ankara’s ambassador – and Ankara may seek to break out of its regional isolation by aggressively pursuing rapprochement with Tehran.

[Photo: PostunSesi / YouTube]