Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit�Turkey�on Dec. 17 upon an invitation from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, but the visit comes increased tension due to the two countries� differences over Syria, as well as difficulties stemming from sanctions against Tehran.
Erdo?an and Ahmadinejad, who will speak on the sidelines of a ceremony in the Central Anatolian province of Konya marking the 739th anniversary of the passing of the great Sufi mystic Rumi, are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including Syria and Turkey�s decision to further cut the oil it purchases from�Iran�as part of Washington�s sanctions. But�Turkeyhas said it will not give up its much-publicized �gold-for-gas� trade with�Iran�despite the new sanctions package imposed by the U.S.
The two countries disagree over the crisis in Syria, with�Iran�one of President Bashar al-Assad�s closest supporters; some Iranian officials have also harshly criticized�Turkey�for siding with Western countries to topple Syria�s government.

Erdo?an openly condemned the Iranian government after a senior Iranian official threatened�Turkey�last month, and Turkish officials have also begun to examine potential Iranian links with the outlawed�Kurdistan Workers� Party�(PKK), whose militancy has risen in 2012.

Along with Erdo?an and Ahmadinejad, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, main opposition Republican People�s Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?�daro?lu, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bah�eli, as well as ministers and parliamentarians will also attend the ceremonies.

The �?eb-i Arus� ceremony is the last in a series of events which began Dec. 7 in Konya to honor the 13th-century poet, mystic and master of the Mevlevi Sufi order, Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi.

The Iranian president arrives the afternoon of Dec. 17 and will spend the night in�Turkeyafter attending the ?eb-i Arus ceremony.

Erdo?an last met with Ahmadinejad in Islamabad during the eighth summit of the �Developing 8� (D-8) countries on Nov. 22.

By Hurriyet Daily News

 

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