Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday in Ankara on the last day of his visit to Turkey.
Rouhani was greeted with an official welcoming ceremony upon his arrival at the presidential palace.
The two leaders were scheduled to co-chair a high-level cooperation council meeting after bilateral talks.
The Iranian president also met Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday (April 15) evening. During the meeting the two countries agreed to improve economic cooperation, with banking a priority, according to prime ministry sources.
On Friday, leaders from more than 50 Muslim nations accused Iran of supporting terrorism and interfering in the affairs of regional states, including Syria and Yemen, a condemnation that may widen the divide between Iran and its main rival, Saudi Arabia.
The leaders, including Rouhani, have been attending a summit in Istanbul this week of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss issues such as the humanitarian fallout from Syria's civil war.
“The conference deplored Iran's interference in the internal affairs of the States of the region and other member states including Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, and its continued support for terrorism,” the OIC said in its final summit communique.
It also stressed the need for “cooperative relations” between Iran and other Muslim countries, including refraining from the use or threat of force.
Both Turkey, which has assumed the three-year rotating presidency of the OIC, and Saudi Arabia are part of the US-led coalition against Islamic State militants in Syria. They are also opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a stance that has put them at odds with Iran, an ally of Assad.
Shi'ite Iran is also allied with the Houthi movement in Yemen, which has been battling forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed president in a conflict that has killed more than 6,000 people since March 2015.
While Turkey and Iran have stark differences over Syria, they have managed to keep their diplomatic and trade relations. Still, majority-Sunni Turkey is close to Saudi Arabia, which has cut diplomatic ties with Iran, and it is concerned about Tehran's growing clout in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
REUTERS