TEHRAN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian and Turkish leaders on Wednesday held discussions to boost comprehensive cooperation in the face of emerging common challenges.
In a meeting with the visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the elevation of Iran and Turkey's cooperation will both benefit Ankara and Tehran.
He also urged convergence of both countries in the face of threats by the United States and Israel amidst Iraqi Kurds' independence referendum.
"The United States and foreign powers are unreliable and seek to create a new Israel in the region," Khamenei said.
Therefore, Tehran and Ankara cooperation would be very significant and will be in the interests of both countries and the Islamic world, he said.
Holding the Kurdish independence vote in Iraq was an act of betrayal against the region and posed a threat to the future of the Middle East, he said, warning about the long-term repercussions of the vote for Iraq's neighbors.
Enemies are trying to keep Iran and Turkey away from major regional developments, and foreign powers and Israel have been seeking to create contention between regional countries, he was quoted as saying by Press TV.
Iran, Turkey and Iraq should take every possible measure against the move by Kurds and make serious decisions, he stressed.
Khamenei also urged the boost of economic cooperation, saying that the current level of trade and economic transactions is unsatisfactory for the two neighbors.
Besides, in a ceremony held for signing four documents of cooperation earlier on Wednesday, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart rejected the recent independence referendum results in Iraqi Kurdistan as "unacceptable."
Iran and Turkey refute the religious and ethnic conflicts in Iraq and Syria, Rouhani said.
"We do not accept disintegration of the states in the region. In our eyes, Iraq is a unified and independent country and so is Syria," Rouhani said.
The leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan should reconsider their decision for independence and "must correct their mistakes," he added.
For his part, visiting Turkish President Erdogan said Iran and Turkey do not recognize the results of Iraqi Kurdistan independence vote.
"We, as Iran and Turkey, have made firm decisions and it is open to everybody," Erdogan said, adding that "we only recognize the central government in Baghdad."
Both Iran and Turkey have taken counter measures to the Kurds' move and will adopt further measures, he warned.
Also, Rouhani said Tehran and Ankara will expand their banking cooperation and use their own currencies for trade transactions.
To facilitate the transit of goods between the two countries, three border points will be designated to provide round-the-clock services for the traders, Rouhani said.
Tehran is ready to pave way for investments by the Turkish side in tourism, petrochemical industry and transit, which is welcomed by Ankara, he said.
Also, Iran urged Turkey to extract more natural gas from the Islamic republic's gas fields and increase investments in its energy sector, Rouhani added.
Iran and Turkey are determined to increase trade and economic transactions to 30 billion U.S. dollars from the current level of 10 billion dollars annually, he pointed out.
For his part, Erdogan said with the enhancement of economic relations between the two neighbors, relations will be further improved in a "positive direction."
He said, in the fourth meeting of Turkey-Iran High Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Tehran on Wednesday, the two sides discussed a roadmap to achieve the target of 30 billion dollars in their trade transactions.
Besides, important talks were held regarding tourism, energy and defense cooperation and the relevant ministers were tasked to take steps for the follow-up measures, Erdogan said.
To reduce the currency pressures in the market, the central banks of both countries will adopt policies for the use of the currencies of Iran and Turkey in their bilateral trade deals, he said, adding that, in line with the banking decision, Iranian and Turkish banks will open branches in Turkey and Iran respectively.
Erdogan said that Turkey encourages its businessmen to invest in Iran's tourism and energy sector. Turkey is ready to hand over its experiences in tourism industry to the Islamic republic, he maintained.
