Turkish President to visit Iran despite recent disagreement

Middle East April 6, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit Tehran for high level meetings on Tuesday despite recent tensions over the Saudi-led bombing operation in Yemen.

According to a joint press statement issued by Tehran and Ankara, Turkish President Erdogan will visit Tehran at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, to share viewpoints on issues of mutual interest, including Operation Decisive Storm against the Yemeni movement Ansar Allah.

The Turkish president is also scheduled to meet Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the statement added.

Erdogan, who will be heading a high-ranking delegation, comprised of a number of Turkish ministers, is slated to participate in the second joint meeting of the Iran-Turkey High Council of Strategic Cooperation, the statement noted.

The first meeting of the council was held during Rouhani’s visit to Ankara in June 9, 2014.

The two countries have strong economic ties, with sanctions-hit Iran being the second-largest gas supplier to energy-strapped Turkey, providing it with 10 billion cubic meters per year.

However diplomatic relations have suffered in recent years, with particularly sharp disagreements over how to resolve the civil war in neighboring Syria.