Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due in Tehran Tuesday evening, as both countries seek to expand economic ties and hold talks on the Syrian civil war, an Iranian official said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due in
Tehran
Tuesday evening, as both countries seek to expand economic ties and hold talks
on the Syrian civil war, an Iranian official said.
Iran
is a
main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while
Turkey
supports the rebels seeking to oust Assad, and relations have been strained.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu traveled to
Tehran
in
late November and his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Javad Zarif visited
Ankara
earlier this month.
According to
Iran
's
foreign ministry, a visit by President Hassan Rouhani to
Turkey
is
also on the agenda.
Mr. Erdogan is facing a massive corruption scandal at home that includes
illegal gold sales to
Iran
under
international sanctions over its nuclear drive.
Iran
has
arrested a tycoon who reputedly played a major role in busting sanctions and
was involved in the Turkish scandal.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzihe Afkham called the visit "very
important" and said Mr. Erdogan meet the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, Mr. Rouhani and Mr. Zarif.
"Dialogue and contacts have entered a new phase, and we hope this trend
continues. Besides serving the interests of the two countries, we hope (our
dialogue) serve the interests of the region as well," Mr. Afkham said.
Energy-hungry
Turkey
is
planning to increase oil and gas imports from
Tehran
after
the gradual lifting of sanctions on the Islamic republic's energy sector.
Iran
reached an interim deal in November with world powers, under which it agreed to
roll back parts of its nuclear program and halt further advances in exchange
for the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and limited relief from
crippling sanctions.
According to Iranian media, Mr. Erdogan is accompanied by Mr. Davutoglu, Energy
Minister Taner Yildiz and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci.
Iranian officials say trade volume between the countries stood at $22 billion
in 2012, before dipping to $20 billion in 2013. The figure is expected to reach
$30 billion in 2015.
Five memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed during the trip.
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