Iranian top diplomat in Ankara for talks amid Idlib tension

ANKARA

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif paid an unannounced visit to the Turkish capital on Aug. 29 amid escalating tension over an impending military operation by the Syrian army into the rebel-held Idlib province of the war-torn country.

Zarif met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara.

His visit comes 10 days before a three-way summit between the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran, which will take place in Tabriz, Iran as part of Astana Process. One of the most important issues that will be discussed will be the Syrian army’s upcoming military offensive into the last rebel-held enclave of Idlib, where more than three million people live.

Turkey is urging Russia to stop the Syrian regime’s offensive to prevent civilian disaster in Syria.

The U.N. worries that the offensive could force 2.5 million people toward the Turkish border.