Zarif Tries to Defuse Tensions with Ankara

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
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Zarif Tries to Defuse Tensions with Ankara

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Turkish officials in Istanbul on Friday as the two regional powers tried to move past tensions sparked by the deaths of Turkish captives in Iraq.

Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed Syria and the ongoing Afghan peace talks as well as trade and the fight against terror, the two counties' foreign ministries said in separate statements.

Turkey's spy chief Hakan Fidan also attended the meeting.

Turkey and Iran, at odds over regional issues including Syria, became entangled in a diplomatic spat in February over Ankara's military operations against Kurdish militants in Iraq.

Turkey accused Kurdish militants of killing 12 Turks and an Iraqi they were holding hostage in northern Iraq.

The Kurdish militants said the 13 were killed by Turkish bombs during a failed rescue operation launched by Ankara.

The incident prompted Iran's envoy to Baghdad, Iraj Masjedi, to warn that Turkish forces should not "pose a threat or violate Iraqi soil," where Iran's influence is strong.

The incident prompted Turkey and Iran to each summon the other's ambassador.

Both Ankara and Tehran have carried out operations against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, and are vying for influence in the war-torn country.

Militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, are blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.

Zarif last visited Istanbul on January 29, when Turkey urged the United States to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement that saw Washington lift some sanctions on Tehran in exchange for Iran limiting its ambitions to develop a bomb.



Russia Attacks Energy Infrastructure in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, Local Authorities Say 

A firefighter works at a site of residential buildings heavily damaged by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine September 8, 2024. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy region/Handout via Reuters) 
A firefighter works at a site of residential buildings heavily damaged by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine September 8, 2024. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy region/Handout via Reuters) 
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Russia Attacks Energy Infrastructure in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, Local Authorities Say 

A firefighter works at a site of residential buildings heavily damaged by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine September 8, 2024. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy region/Handout via Reuters) 
A firefighter works at a site of residential buildings heavily damaged by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine September 8, 2024. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy region/Handout via Reuters) 

Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, cutting power in some districts and forcing authorities to resort to back-up power systems, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The attack dealt damage in Konotop, Okhtyrka and Sumy districts of the region and the critical infrastructure facilities were using back-up power systems, regional officials said via the Telegram messaging app.

Sumy water supply facilities said that the attack cut power to them at night, prompting the switch to emergency power supply.

Sumy's acting mayor Artem Kobzar said there were no casualties in the city and that energy workers were dealing with the attack's aftermath.

The regional authorities said air defenses shot down 16 drones over the region.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 51 drones to attack the country overnight and that it had shot down 34 of them after the air defense worked in five regions.