Turkey’s Erdogan holds talks with Iranian leaders before summit | News

Turkish president met Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Raisi in advance of a trilateral summit with Russian President Putin, with Ukraine and Syria on the agenda.

Tehran, Iran – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held separate talks with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi on improving bilateral relations in Tehran, in advance of the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin for a trilateral summit.

The Turkish president arrived in the Iranian capital late Monday at the head of a large delegation that included several ministers from his cabinet. He received an official welcome from Raisi on Tuesday at the Saadabad Palace, where meetings with heads of state take place.

The meeting with Khamenei took place after the Raisi meeting.

Putin is expected to arrive later on Tuesday for the trilateral summit with the two presidents in the “Astana format”, with Syria on the agenda.

The fallout from the war in Ukraine and food security is also expected to be discussed in the meetings between the leaders.

A Russian plane landed at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran late on Monday but it did not carry Putin.

Iran has been eyeing a long-term cooperation agreement with neighbouring Turkey for some time. The document was initially supposed to be signed during a planned Erdogan visit to Tehran in November 2021, but it did not materialise.

The two countries have been major trade partners for years, but bilateral trade has taken a serious hit in recent years due to United States sanctions on Iran and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total volume of bilateral trade peaked at $21bn in 2012, but dropped to a low of $1bn in 2020. It had rebounded to $5.5bn by the end of 2021, and the Raisi administration – which has focused on a regional diplomacy initiative – wants to significantly boost it despite US sanctions.

Turkey has been trying to develop closer ties with Iran’s arch foe Israel, and last month hosted now-caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Turkey also said last month that it had foiled an alleged Iranian plot to kill Israeli citizens in Istanbul, a charge Iran denied.