Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has urged neighboring Turkmenistan to cooperate in fighting terrorism and smuggling. “We are two states and we have complications on some positions. One of those matters is contraband and terrorism. On these matters, we, the two states, should help each other and fight together,” Ahmadinejad said after arriving in the Turkmen capital late Tuesday.
Ahmadinejad is meeting with President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, who took power late last year after the death of Saparmurat Niyazov, who had led Turkmenistan for more than two decades in an all-encompassing cult of personality.
Berdymukhamedov has indicated he intends to continue his predecessor’s policy of firm neutrality in world affairs.
The leaders are expected to sign an array of trade, economic and cultural agreements.