Ali Akbar Salehi, new appointed FM of Iran, pays visit to Turkey
New appointed foreign minister of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi paid his first international visit Wednesday to Istanbul where he is supposed to join his regional counterparts for economic cooperation talks.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran appointed Salehi last week after sacking Manouchehr Mottaki in a surprise move signaling an apparent falling out over nuclear policy.
Salehi, who is also Iran's nuclear chief, made brief welcoming remarks at Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit as his country handed over the rotating presidency of the ECO to Turkey.
The foreign ministers and senior officials from the 10 member states were assigned to prepare the ground for Thursday's summit of their leaders, to be attended also by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.