Jalili gets cold shoulder

ANKARA

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Jalili (2nd R) and Iranian diplomats wait at the entrance of Turkish Prime Ministry as the PM arrives for the meeting 30 minutes late. AP photo

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met yesterday with Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, who was expected to travel to Istanbul later in the day to meet with EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton when the Hürriyet Daily News went press.

Yet on the second day of his visit to Turkey, Jalili was not welcomed with an official greeting as per protocol in front of the prime ministry. Instead Jalili was left standing around waiting for welcoming officials.

Moreover, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was half an hour late to the meeting, which Davutoğlu opened for his Iranian guest.

Turkey has recently accused Syria and Iran of backing Kurdish terrorist attacks on military outposts in the southeast. Prime Minister Erdoğan said Sept. 16 that he had sent Hakan Fidan, chief of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, to Iran and that Iranians were denying any involvement with increased PKK activity.

Jailil met with Davutoğlu on Sept. 17 and mainly discussed the Syrian crisis, diplomatic sources said.