Ahmadinejad to visit Turkey amid tension

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Turkey on December 17 upon an invitation from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but the visit comes increased tension due to the two countries’ differences over Syria, as well as difficulties stemming from sanctions against Tehran, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Erdoğan and Ahmadinejad, who will speak on the sidelines of a ceremony in the Central Anatolian province of Konya marking the 739th anniversary of the passing of the great Sufi mystic Rumi, are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including Syria and Turkey’s decision to further cut the oil it purchases from Iran as part of Washington’s sanctions. But Turkey has said it will not give up its much-publicized “gold-for-gas” trade with Iran despite the new sanctions package imposed by the U.S.

The two countries disagree over the crisis in Syria, with Iran one of President Bashar al-Assad’s closest supporters; some Iranian officials have also harshly criticized Turkey for siding with Western countries to topple Syria’s government.