Rahimi Returns To Tehran After Talks With Top Turkish Officials

Ankara, Oct 6, IRNA – Islamic Republic of Iran’s 1st Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi who was in Turkey atop a high ranking delegation for talks with top political officials of Republic of Turkey arrived back in Tehran Friday afternoon. During his visit to Ankara, Rahimi met and conferred with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan, and Foreign Minister Ehmet Davut Oglu on bilateral ties, regional and international developments. Rahimi arrived in Turkey on Thursday accompanied by Iran’s oil minister, minister of industries, mines and commerce, minister of roads and transportation, minister of justice, two parliament members, the president of the Central Bank of Iran, and a number of high ranking officials of various Islamic Republic state foundations. The high-ranking delegation was officially received at the Turkish Prime Minister’s Palace, with the warm reception of Prime Minister Erdogan. Rahimi had separate meetings with The Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Davut Oglu and Prime Minster Recep Teyyip Erdogan on Thursday and then on Friday the official negotiations of the two countries’ ministers and other high ranking officials, headed on the Iranian side by First Vice President were held. Erdogan and Rahimi at the end of their Thursday talks in Ankara participated at a joint press conference in which they both stressed the two countries’ resolve will forever more expansion and strengthening of relations and cooperation. The Turkish prime minister also hosted a dinner ceremony Friday night in the honor of the Iranian first vice president. Rahimi had his second round of talks with the Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Friday. In this visit and in the course of the official meetings held during it led by Rahimi and Erdogan, the latest developments in the course of Iran-Turkey economic and business relations were surveyed by the highest officials of the two countries and decisions were made aimed at fast removal of the entire obstacles and paving the path for greater bilateral economic ties. Rahimi’s last visit of Turkey was in October 2008, during which also the focus of attention of the two courtiers’ top officials was the two countries’ economic and trade relations. In his joint press conference with Rahimi Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan said that Turkey does not want to engage in a war with Syria, but on the contrary Ankara only wants peace and security in the Middle East region. On October 3, a mortar shell was fired and hit the Turkish town of Akcakale in southern Turkey. “The incident of Akcakale town is not ordinary. This attack did not take place for the first time by Syria against Turkey. They (Syrian) forces have already launched seven attacks on Turkey so far. We request our Syrian friends to show more sensitivity in this regard,” Erdogan said. On October 4th, the Turkish artillery hit targets near Syria's Tel Abyad border town for a second day killing several Syrian soldiers according to activists and security sources. Damascus said it was investigating a mortar attack on the Turkish town of Akcakale in southern Turkey. Emphasizing that the Turkey is not warmonger and Ankara has closely seen the consequences of war in its neighboring countries of Iraq and Afghanistan, Erdogan said that “Turkey is calling for immediate halt to bloodshed and brother killings in Syria. We do not want to be observer of massacre of our Syrian brothers.” Pointing to the fact that the Turkish government is fully capable of safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, he noted that he and the other Turkish officials have held separate talks with their Iranian counterparts on the issue of Syria and foreign ministers of both countries have been commissioned to achieve a feasible solution for the Syrian crisis in the shortest possible time. Referring to his talks with Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi on bilateral ties, Erdogan pointed out that it was an opportunity to have comprehensive talks with Vice President Rahimi and that there were also broad-based talks at ministerial level between two countries. Rahimi’s visit takes place upon an official invitation extended by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan. The ministers of oil, transportation, justice, industries, mines and commerce are accompanying Rahimi during his visit to Turkey. Rahimi is to confer on Friday with the Turkish President Abdullah Gul on issues of mutual interests as well as regional and international developments. It is expected that economic cooperation would feature prominently in mutual talks./end