Turkish FM in Tehran

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Tehran on Wednesday on a daylong trip for talks with his counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and President Hassan Rouhani about bilateral and regional issues, IRNA reported. Iran's military advisors backed by Russia air power have intervened in the Syria conflict to support President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against militant groups that rely on support from western powers and their regional allies, including Turkey, to dislodge Assad. Ankara joined Tehran and Moscow in late 2016 in sponsoring a peace process, known as Astana talks, to ensure a ceasefire in the seven-year-old Syria war and monitor any violations, in an apparent sign of breaking ranks with the US-led coalition on Syria. But a Turkish offensive launched last month on northern Syria has complicated the trilateral peace initiative and further strained Ankara's ties with Washington. Turkey's air and ground offensive is purportedly meant to clear Kurdish fighters of the US-backed People's Protection Units (YPG), which it regards as terrorist, from a northwestern enclave of Syria. Iran has called on Turkey to quickly end its offensive, warning that it could boost terrorist groups.