Turkish president meets Iranian counterpart

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday met with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The two leaders appeared in a joint news conference after their meeting.

President Erdogan said Turkey and Iran must strengthen their cooperation to reach a bilateral trade volume of $30 billion.

Turkey does not approve the U.S. sanctions on Iran since they lead to destabilization in the region, said Erdogan.

Erdogan said Turkey will not allow any entities seeking to harm regional security, adding that Turkey is cooperating with Iran to ensure this.

Erdogan said Turkey and Iran have numerous joint steps to take for the regional security and to end clashes.