Turkey's Gül to visit Iran in mid-February

President Abdullah Gül will pay an official visit to Tehran on Feb. 14-16 at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, only weeks after İstanbul hosted the second round of nuclear talks between world powers and Iran.

Gül's visit had been planned long before İstanbul was chosen as the venue for the nuclear talks, thus the agenda of the visit is not directly related to the global dispute surrounding Tehran's nuclear program.

But the issue is likely to be discussed by the two leaders, in addition to bilateral and regional affairs.

The İstanbul talks, which ended with no clear agreement to meet again, were meant to address Iran's dispute with some western states.

Improving bilateral economic relations and bilateral cooperation in the field of energy will be the main focus of Gül's visit. In addition to Tehran, Gül will also visit the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, which are home to a sizeable Azeri population.


/World Bulletin/