TEHRAN – Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami met on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

According to the Anadolu Agency, Akar received Hatami with a military ceremony at the Turkish Defense Ministry, where national anthems of both countries were played.

Hatami greeted the escort of honor in Turkish language.

Following the ceremony, the ministers held a meeting in which regional security and defense issues were discussed.

Ankara was set to host a trilateral summit on Syria between the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran later on Monday.

The three countries were the guarantors of the Astana peace talks, which were launched on Jan. 23-24, 2017 with the aim of putting an end to the Syrian conflict.

Kazakhstan has hosted multiple rounds of talks on Syria since January 2017, backed by the three power brokers, most of which involved delegations from the Syrian government and opposition.

The 13th round of talks was held in Nursultan, the new name of Kazakhstan’s capital, on August 1-2.

In this round of talks international bodies such as the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross were also present.

MH/PA