Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers on Thursday called on relevant parties to resume nuclear talks with Iran as soon as possible for regional stability.

Photo taken on Aug. 21, 2010 shows a view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran. [Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua]

At a joint press conference held in Turkey's capital Ankara Thursday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi hoped that the nuclear talks between Iran and five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany could be restarted in Istanbul as soon as possible.

"The key thing is to start negotiations and ease tensions at once. And Turkey is ready to provide any help or any contributions to the resumption of nuclear talks since it is high time for talks and a settlement," said Ahmet Davutoglu.

He noted that both Iran and the European Union's top foreign and security policy official Catherine Ashton had conveyed their readiness for the resumption of talks at different occasions.

Davutoglu also clarified that the NATO's missile defense system, which has become operational in eastern Turkey recently, was designed for defense purposes, not against Iran, adding that he and Salehi had talked about it openly.

The most crucial assurance Turkey could give to Iran was " friendship and brotherly relations," said Davutoglu, as "Turkey does not consider any neighbor as a threat," adding that whatever the issue may be, the two sides should hold face to face talks.

Salehi said he hoped negotiations could be held in Istanbul. "It is time for the talks to start if other parties are ready to act sincerely. If there were any excuses on their part, it would mean that they are against or do not endorse negotiations," He said. 

The Turkish government seeks to increase trade volume with Iran to 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, a move to boost ties with the Islamic republic despite the new round of Western sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, the Turkish environment and urban planning minister said Thursday.

"Iran and Turkey's relations saw a 70 percent rise in 2011 and I hope that new steps will be taken within the framework of the joint commission to help increase the trade volume to 30 billion U. S. dollars in 2015," Erdogan Bayraktar said at a joint economic meeting held here.

Turkey and Iran, during the two-day Joint Economic Cooperation Commission session, signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering such areas as transportation, energy and industry, aiming to increase bilateral trade.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who headed the Iranian delegation, said that to achieve the 30 billion-dollar goal, Iran and Turkey need to facilitate financial affairs and transactions and implement agreements reached in the joint commission.

Turkey raised the trade target at a time when the United States ratcheted up pressure on Iran with a new round of sanctions, and the European Union (EU) is also expected to agree on an oil embargo and a freeze on the assets of Iran's central bank at a meeting scheduled for Jan. 23.

Turkey pledged not to comply with the new U.S. sanctions targeting the Iranian oil industry and calling for sanctions against financial institutions doing business with Iran's state banking institutions, saying Ankara is only bound by the UN sanctions.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Jan. 12 that Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (Tupras), the biggest crude oil importer of the country, is continuing its imports from Iran, adding that "as of today there has been no change on our roadmap."

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