Turkey, Iran to hold political consultations in Ankara

ANKARA

Political consultations between the Turkish and Iranian Foreign Ministries will be held in Ankara, Turkey's capital, on Tuesday.

The consultations will be co-chaired by Sedat Onal, Turkey’s deputy foreign minister, and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi, said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

Issues to be discussed at the meeting include bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues, the statement added.

The consultations will be held in the wake of an April 17 visit by Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Turkey.

Zarif met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of his official visit.

The talks also come amid a U.S. push to sanction countries that buy Iranian oil in defiance of Washington, which unilaterally walked away from the Iranian nuclear deal.

Turkey and other countries have criticized the U.S. move, calling it counter-productive, adding that they are not bound by the U.S. decision to break the deal.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz