Zarif’s visit to Istanbul is the first by a foreign minister in months, since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The two top foreign officials also discussed ways to compensate for the reduction of trade between the two countries over the last four months, according to IRNA.

Iran's top diplomat stressed the importance of resuming gas exports and repairing damaged parts of the gas pipeline that was detonated a few months ago in a bomb attack.

Agreement on holding Astana summit online and then holding the meeting in Tehran, issues related to Syria, Yemen, Libya, and fighting terrorism were among topics discussed by both sides.

The Iranian FM also voiced Tehran’s solidarity with Ankara in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences.

Zarif further thanked Turkey for helping Iran fight the pandemic, Anadolu reported.

Telling how Iran was one of the first countries to see victims of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, Zarif said it mostly overcame the outbreak using its national strength and the help of its friends in the region.

“This pandemic has shown that countries depend on each other, and unilateral policies are no solution,” he added.

Flights with Iran to resume

Turkey and Iran plan to resume flights on August 1 after a months-long hiatus due to the virus outbreak, Anadolu news agency cited Turkish FM as saying.

“We have opened the borders. We will continue working for passages by both air and land,” Cavusoglu added.

He added that the two countries need to continue working to fight terrorism in the days to come.

Before the press conference, the two top diplomats signed a memorandum of understanding on their respective diplomatic and consular promises.

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