TEHRAN — Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara late on Monday to discuss a variety of issues.

The meeting took place hours after Iran’s chief diplomat held talks with his Turkish Counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

In the meeting, Amir Abdollahian conveyed the Iranian president’s regards to Erdogan and renewed invitation to the Turkish president to visit Tehran to hold a meeting of the High Council of Cooperation between the two countries and attend a meeting of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission. 

The foreign minister then highlighted the promotion of economic and trade relations with Turkey and increasing trade exchanges to the targeted level.

Amir Abdollahian also informed the Turkish leader about the talks intended to lift sanctions against Iran by reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. The chief diplomat stressed that Iran is serious to reach a “good, reliable and lasting agreement, if the American side acts realistically and avoids extravagance.” 

The remarks by Amir Abdollahian came one day before the top negotiators from Iran and the U.S. visited Doha, Qatar, to resume talks through a mediation by European Union coordinator Enrique Mora. 

Iran’s chief diplomat also reiterated Tehran's principled position for a political solution to the Syrian crisis and that it is necessary to avoid any military action in the country, underlining Tehran’s readiness to facilitate talks to reduce security concerns on Syria.

Amir Abdollahian also clarified about some provocative moves of the Israeli regime in the region, noting that such moves are synonymous with inciting sedition. He warned that creating insecurity will be a gift to Tel Aviv. 

Amir Abdollahian also emphasized Iran's support for the Palestinian cause.

For his part, President Erdogan greeted the high-ranking Iranian delegation’s visit to Ankara and insisted on his government's neighborhood policy and energizing relations with neighbors. 

The Turkish leader also emphasized the need to achieve targeted trade exchanges between the two countries. 

He then thanked Amir Abdollahian for renewing invitation for his visit to Iran and expressed hope that he would travel to Tehran at the appropriate time to hold the High Council for Cooperation between the two countries.

The Turkish president also expressed hope that the nuclear talks would bear fruit.

He also expressed Ankara’s views regarding issues related to Palestine, Jerusalem-al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling Palestine an important issue in the Islamic world and reiterated the unity of the Islamic world in this regard.

Developments in Afghanistan, the situation in Iraq, the Astana process, the two countries' determination to fight terrorism, and the focus on finding a political solution to the region's problems were among other topics featured during Amir Abdollahian’s meeting with the Turkish president.

Amir Abdollahian’s visit to Turkey took place upon invitation by Cavusoglu. 

The foreign minister flew directly from Turkey to Turkmenistan to attend a ministerial meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states.