Zarif's unexpected visit to Ankara; Iranian Foreign Minister meets with Turkish Prime Minister
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Turkish officials in Ankara in what was described as an unexpected visit.
Mr. Zarif traveled to Ankara on Wednesday, October 27, on his way back from New York, and after meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister, he held talks with the country's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
Although the details of the Iranian Foreign Minister's talks with Turkish officials have not been published, it is expected that these meetings took place in line with consultations on the Syrian crisis.
Hours after the meeting, the IRNA news agency, citing the Iranian Foreign Ministry, announced that during this visit, in addition to exchanging views on bilateral and regional issues, Iran and Turkey agreed to cooperate to stop the conflict in Syria and send humanitarian aid to the country.
Türkiye, which initially had a completely opposite position towards the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding Syria, has repeatedly consulted with Iranian officials about the Syrian crisis in recent months.
Turkish media described Mr. Zarif's visit to Turkey as unexpected. This is the third meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries and Mr. Zarif's second meeting with the Turkish prime minister in the past two months. Mr. Zarif also met with the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Ankara in August.
Relations between Türkiye and the United States have cooled over the Syrian crisis following America's support for the Syrian Kurds and its failure to extradite Fethullah Gulen, accused of involvement in the recent Turkish coup.
Meanwhile, Iran has tried to improve relations with Mr. Erdogan's government in Turkey after the failed coup and to change Turkey's stance on the Syrian crisis. However, following Turkey's ground operation against the Syrian Kurds, Iran has called on Ankara to immediately end the operation.
With talks between the US and Russian foreign ministers and a temporary ceasefire last week, there was hope that the path to peace talks in Syria would be paved, but the fighting escalated once again.
Source: Voice of America
