Turkish FM discusses ties with Japan, Iran, Russia

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed bilateral ties with his Japanese, Iranian and Russian counterparts on the sidelines of the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Singapore Thursday.

"The cooperation between Turkey and Japan is gaining momentum in many fields. We hope this momentum will continue with high-level visits," Cavusoglu tweeted after a bilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

Cavusoglu said they also discussed bilateral issues and regional developments.

He also met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

"At our meeting in Singapore with Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of Iran, we discussed bilateral and regional issues," he said.

Cavusoglu also met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

He exchanged views on bilateral cooperation and regional developments, particularly Syria.

The first-ever ASEAN-Turkey Trilateral Ministerial Meeting was held on Wednesday.

The trilateral meeting follows last year's establishment of a sectoral dialogue partnership between Ankara and ASEAN countries.

Cavusoglu on Thursday said Turkey regards ASEAN as "one of the most successful" regional integration schemes in the world.

"We are pleased with our rapidly growing institutional relationship with ASEAN and its member states," he said.

Ankara formed ties with ASEAN in 1999 and attended its first summit in 2013. Also, Turkey received an observer status in ASEAN’s multinational police force in 2014 and became a sectoral dialogue partner at last year’s ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the Philippines.