Iranian FM meets Georgian, Japanese, Omani, Turkish counterparts

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held separate meetings with his Georgian, Japanese, Omani and Turkish counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York to discuss bilateral ties and the latest regional and international developments. During the meetings on Monday, Zarif conferred on ways to expand bilateral ties and economic, trade and cultural cooperation between Iran and the aforementioned states, and also exchanged views with his counterparts on international and regional issues, specially the Syrian crisis, the situation in war-torn Afghanistan and Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West. In his meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze, Zarif referred to Tehran and Tbilisi's commonalities, and said, "Iran and Georgia enjoy good relations but enhancement of the existing relations and cooperation between them is necessary due to the two sides' capacities." Also in a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, the Iranian top diplomat underlined that Tehran attaches much importance to its ties with Tokyo, and said, "The two countries enjoy age-old relations and we expect long-term relations with Japan and hope that Japan will also have a similar view." Zarif also held a separate meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, and discussed the latest regional developments, specially in Syria, at the meeting. The two high-ranking officials warned of the dangers of spreading instability and extremism in the region. The Iranian foreign minister also had a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in New York, during which he stressed Tehran's readiness to further strengthen relations with Ankara. They also discussed the situation in Syria. Zarif is in New York to take part in the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, which opened on September 17. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also traveled to New York on Monday to take part in the event. President Rouhani is due to address the UN meeting on September 24.