Zarif had earlier met Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, his Turkish counterpart after his visit to New York to participate in UNGA, in a three and half an hour meeting where they talked Syria where both countries had been engaged by different agendas. Zarif then held talks by Binali Yıldırım in his office in Ankara, which received wide coverage in the local media, some of which dubbed the meeting as ‘unofficial and unexpected.’
Diplomatic circles speculate that the meeting would steal the limelight, since Zairf’s visit coincides with the time when Turkey has drastically changed policies on Syrian crisis; it embarked on Operation Euphrates Shield on August 24 where Turkish military advanced well into Syrian soil to Al-Bab and Ar-Riqqa districts, with further worsening Washington-Ankara ties since the US supports and arms Kurdish YPG in northern Syria.
Zarif’s visit is third with Turkish foreign minister and second with Yıldırım within recent two months. This is part of negotiations important to Syrian and Iraqi territorial integrity. In June, Zarif visited Turkey, to which the latter responded with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visiting back Tehran.
SH/IRN 82247605
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