Iran FM Zarif visits Turkey to find solutions to ease regional tensions

 

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Amid rising regional problems namely the Qatar diplomatic fallout and the crisis in Yemen, Iran’s foreign minister visited Turkey “to hold dialogues on bilateral relations, regional issues, especially the Syrian problem,” according to the Iranian ministry.

 

“There are concerning developments in the region for us. We need to have a close exchange of ideas with Turkey regarding these incidents,” Iran FM Javad Zarif told reporters in the capital Ankara before meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to Turkish Hurriyet Daily News.

 

The visit took on a different face when gunmen opened fire inside Iran’s parliament building and near a shrine devoted to Ayatollah Khomeini, killing at least 12 people and injuring another 43, according to Iranian officials.

 

"This attack will further consolidate our people's stance against terrorism," Zarif said, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

 

World leaders had urged regional leaders to continue dialogue after Monday’s diplomatic fallout with Doha, when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Maldives severed official and trade ties with oil-rich Qatar, claiming support and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda and fueling the war in Yemen.

 

Erdogan had said that isolation is not the answer and Qatar was not supporting terrorists.

 

“It will not contribute to solving any problem to try and isolate Qatar in such a way, which we know for sure has fought very effectively against terrorist groups,” Hurriyet quoted Erdogan as saying on Tuesday.