Bilateral, regional issues top agenda as Turkish, Iranian presidents meet in Tehran

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi for talks in Tehran on Tuesday, with bilateral and regional matters the top issues on the agenda.

Erdoğan and Raisi will co-chair the 7th Meeting of the Türkiye-Iran High Level Cooperation Council, where all aspects of bilateral ties and potential steps to enhance bilateral cooperation will be discussed.

The Turkish president is also expected to meet Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Erdoğan and Raisi will later meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the seventh Astana meeting.

Discussions will focus on developments in Syria, the fight against the terrorist organizations, particularly the YPG/PKK and Daesh, efforts for a political resolution, the humanitarian situation and the voluntarily return of displaced Syrians, according to a statement by the Turkish Presidency on Sunday.

Erdoğan and Raisi will also hold separate meetings with Putin.

The Astana process was launched in 2017 to restore peace in Syria, which has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters with unexpected ferocity.