Iranian top diplomat in Ankara for talks on Syria, bilateral issues

ANKARA

Senior officials from Türkiye and Iran discussed bilateral ties as well as regional issues, including the ongoing Syrian civil war, in the Turkish capital on Jan. 17.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian visited Ankara on a one-day trip where he was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and held talks with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

According to a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Çavuşoğlu and Abdollahian, discussed bilateral issues between Türkiye and Iran as well as current regional and international developments.

Abdollahian’s visit is seen as preparation for the upcoming visit by Iranian President İbrahim Reisi. It will mark his first visit to Türkiye after coming to power.

One of the top issues discussed between the two foreign ministers was Syria as both countries are partners at the Astana process with Russia, a mechanism established for bringing stability to the war-torn country. Abdollahian was in Damascus and held talks with Syrian President Beshar al-Assad before coming to Ankara.

The visit comes days before the foreign ministers from Türkiye, Syria and Russia meet to continue a trilateral mechanism launched in the last days of 2022 by the defense ministers of the three countries.

In Damascus, Abdollahian been assured by the Syrian authorities that Iran will be kept in the loop regarding the ongoing process between Türkiye and Syria. Iran has been a staunch supporter of Damascus since the beginning of the turmoil in 2011.

The Turkish and Iranian officials also discussed energy cooperation as the former is supplying a significant amount of natural gas from Iran. There were recent reports that Iran cut around 70 percent of the natural gas it was sending to Türkiye.

The two sides also reviewed the state of economic ties, trade relations and other regional issues, including the recent developments in the southern Caucasus.