According To Iran News, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that President Recep Tayyeb Erdogan will travel to Iran after the pandemic is over.

In a press conference on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met and held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Istanbul and noted that Turkish President Erdoğan will travel to Tehran after the outbreak is over.

Referring to the COVID-19 crisis, Cavusoglu said coronavirus indicated that we need to enhance cooperation and that Ankara is ready to boost its tie with Iran in the fight against the pandemic and other issues.

Cavusoglu also announced that the two countries intend to resume their flights from August 1, 2020.

He also referred to the talks between Turkish and Russian president’s on the Libyan crisis and the efforts to establish a ceasefire in the country and said that Moscow and Ankara have no major disagreement in this regard.

FM Zarif also maintained that bilateral ties in the battle against COVID-19 will increase in the future and also appreciate Turkish collaboration in countering US unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The post Erdogan to visit Iran after pandemic appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey – the three guarantors of the Astana format- held a trilateral meeting via video conference to discuss Syria peace efforts.

The top diplomats of the three guarantors of the Astana peace process held the trilateral meeting via tele-conference on Wednesday, April 22.

In the meeting, held to discuss the latest developments in Syria and the region, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Sergei Lavrov talked about the latest developments, including the most recent situation in Idlib, Syria’s Constitutional Committee, the necessity for the removal of the unilateral sanctions, particularly given the outbreak of the coronavirus, humanitarian conditions, and return of the displaced persons.

The Iranian, Turkish and Russian foreign ministers emphasized the need to continue holding consultations and coordination at the highest level among the three guarantors of the Astana format as the most important and effective process for the settlement of the crisis in Syria.

The participants also agreed on the need to respect Syria’s independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity, resolve the Syrian crisis politically, delineate between the terrorists and the opposition, and keep up the fight against terrorism.

Zarif, who has recently paid a visit to Syria to discuss the latest developments and hold consultations with the Syrian president and foreign minister, touched on the recent developments in Idlib during the trilateral meeting, and stressed the need for respecting Syria’s territorial integrity and for the continued fight against terrorism.

Pointing to his recent consultations with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen, Zarif voiced support for his efforts to facilitate the Syrian-Syrian dialogue within the framework of the Constitutional Committee, and stressed the need for protecting the Committee’s independence and preventing foreign interference in the process of its activities.

The top Iranian diplomat also pointed to the far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, slammed the unilateral sanctions as a serious obstacle to the battle with the virus, and reminded the international community and the United Nations of their responsibility to lift the sanctions, alleviate the suffering of Syrian people, and pay special attention to the status of the displaced persons at the refugee camps occupied by the US.

Zarif further described the efforts to expedite the return of Syrian refugees and the international community’s push to provide humanitarian aids as a major step in the fulfillment of that goal and the restoration of hope and stability to the Syrian community.

He also denounced the Zionist regime’s constant acts of aggression against Syria as a violation of Syria’s national sovereignty, saying they also threaten peace and stability in the region and contravene the international law.

The Iranian, Russian and Turkish foreign ministers in this meeting emphasized the necessity of proceeding with trilateral consultations at all levels, including by holding the sixth Summit of Astana Process in the Islamic Republic of Iran after the normalization of situation created by the coronavirus outbreak.

The post Iran, Russia, Turkey FMs Hold Meeting on Syria Peace appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“If today Libya becomes like Syria, then the turn will come for the other countries in the region,” Cavusoglu said at a meeting of the governing AK Party in the capital, Ankara, on Saturday.

“We need to do whatever is needed to prevent Libya from being divided and sliding into chaos, and that is what we are doing. It is the legitimate government there that we deal with,” he added, stressing Turkey’s commitment to agreements signed with Libya’s internationally-recognized government last month.

The accords — one on security and military cooperation and another on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean — were inked on November 27 and granted Ankara the right to deploy troops to Libya if asked by Tripoli.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara had received that request and that the Turkish parliament would soon authorize the dispatch of troops to Libya.

The Libyan government has been fighting an offensive by the militia under the command of renegade General Khalifa Haftar near the capital for nine months.

Haftar’s forces have previously seized and searched a Turkish vessel, suspecting that it was carrying weapons for the government. They released the ship afterward, however.

Libya was wracked by chaos in 2011 when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his execution by unruly fighters.

The Libyan government has been attempting to establish order.

The post Libya on brink of chaos, Turkey minister says appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, Turkey reacted angrily at the US Senate move to unanimously pass on Thursday a resolution recognizing as a “genocide” the mass killings of Armenians a century ago.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the vote a “political show” on social media, adding that “it is not legally binding and it has no validity whatsoever.”

The historic move dealt another blow to the already problematic ties between Ankara and Washington, D.C., Al Jazeera reported.

Turkey’s state-run news agency, Anadolu, quoted Cavusoglu as saying that those who use history for political purposes are “cowards who do not want to face the truth”.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement condemning the vote as “one of the shameful examples of how history can be politicized”, Anadolu reported.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart.

They say the mass killings amounted to “genocide”, a claim recognized by about 30 countries.

Turkey strongly denies the accusation of “genocide” and says Armenians and Turks died as a result of World War I. It puts the death toll in the hundreds of thousands from both sides.

Turkey’s position on the events is that the deaths took place when some sided with invading Russians, and revolted against Ottoman forces.

In October, the Democratic-led House of Representatives had passed the resolution by an overwhelming majority.

US Congressional aides said the White House does not want the legislation to move ahead while it negotiates with Ankara on sensitive issues.

The post Turkey Raps US Senate Resolution Recognizing Armenia Genocide appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday in addition to Russian S-400 air-defense system, Turkey needs more systems.

The S-400 battery alone is not enough, Turkey needs new and additional air defense systems, Cavusoglu said in a joint news conference with his Somali counterpart Ahmed Issa Awad in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

He also reiterated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s earlier remarks that Turkey can purchase Patriot missiles, if the US guarantees it.

Responding to the criticism on Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 air-defense system, Cavusoglu said a product is not purchased for storage purpose, and that Turkey needs the system, Anadolu Agency reported.

Saying that the S-400 issue was mentioned during Erdogan’s recent visit to Washington, he said this is one of the issues that negatively affect Turkey-US relations.

Ankara received its first Russian S-400 missiles in July. The delivery of the first battery was completed on July 25, and of the second batch started in August.

In April 2017, when its protracted efforts to buy an air defense system from the US proved fruitless, Turkey signed a contract with Russia to acquire the S-400 anti-missile shield.

Opposing deployment of the Russian system, US officials argued that they would be incompatible with NATO systems and would expose its F-35 jets to possible Russian subterfuge.

Turkey, however, stressed that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems, and posed no threat to the alliance or its armaments.

Turkey also proposed a commission to clarify any technical issues, but the US has failed to respond.

Turkey has rebuffed suggestions from US leaders that it leave the Russian S-400 system unactivated in order to avoid possible US sanctions.

The S-400 is seen as one of the most advanced missile systems in the world, capable of tracking several targets simultaneously.

The post Turkey Needs More Air Defense Systems appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), announced last Monday that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium will exceed 300 kilograms by June 27.

Zarif made the remarks in a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Isfahan on Friday.

Cavusoglu had arrived in Isfahan a day earlier, on June 20, for a working visit at the invitation of Zarif.

During their press conference, Zarif said mutual relations are on the right track, adding Cavusoglu’s trip was important to the two countries’ strategic relations and signing of a political cooperation document between their respective foreign ministries.

Following a meeting between the two countries’ delegations earlier this year, Cavusoglu and Zarif also signed a plan meant to strengthen cooperation in bilateral, regional, and international relations during their Friday meeting.

Zarif also said that following a meeting earlier by the two heads of state in Tajikistan, Iran is ready to boost trade with Turkey.

The two foreign ministers also discussed energy, banking, and tourism relations, as well as the current state of affairs in Syria, Yemen, and the Persian Gulf.

The post Zarif: Iran to start second phase of limiting nuclear commitments on July 7 appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Turkey rejects unilateral sanctions and impositions on how to conduct relations with neighbors,” he added.

Later, commenting on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggesting Saudi Arabia and the UAE as alternatives to Iranian oil, the minister said, “pushing [us] to buy oil from countries other than Iran is going too far.”

Following a joint news conference with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Aslov in the Turkish capital Ankara, Cavusoglu said it was ethically “wrong” to suggest them as alternatives as the US has close ties with those countries.

“This violates the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and poses a risk to stability in the region,” he added.

The United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “have agreed to take timely action to assure that global demand is met as all Iranian oil is removed from the market,” the White House said in a statement Monday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was to discuss the move at the State Department Monday morning. The decision means sanctions waivers for five nations, including China and India and US treaty allies Turkey, Japan and South Korea, will not be renewed when they expire on May 2.

The waivers had been in place since November when the administration re-imposed sanctions on Iran after Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.

The post Turkey slams US move to end waivers on Iran oil imports appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Late Tuesday upon arrival in Ankara after having a one-day visit to Syria and holding talks with the country’s high-ranking officials in Damascus, Zarif said that the aim of his visit to Turkey is to confer on regional developments as well as ways to expand bilateral ties.

Zarif went on to say that during his visit to Turkey, he will discuss with Turkish officials regional developments, especially those in Syria and North Africa.

Pointing to the recent visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Turkey and the signed agreements between the two sides, he noted that he will further discuss bilateral politico-economic relations with Turkish officials.

The Iranian top diplomat is slated to hold meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Zarif started a trip to Syria and Turkey on Tuesday as part of Tehran’s regular political talks with Damascus and Ankara.

The post Zarif, Cavusoglu held 1st round of negotiations appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has voiced a proposal to control the US troops’ pullout from Syria jointly with Russia and Iran.

The post Turkey calls for joint control with Russia, Iran of US exit from Syria appeared first on Iran News Daily.

 Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says France’s presence in Syria to protect the YPG would help neither France nor the YPG.

The post Turkey warns France over presence in Syria to protect YPG appeared first on Iran News Daily.