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Iran's Velayati visits Turkey amid diplomatic row

ANKARA: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati arrived in Turkey on Friday for a one-day visit amid a war of words between the neighbours over charges of spying and support for Islamist militants.

"The relations between Iran and Turkey, as two important neighbourly and brotherly countries, is of importance for both of us," Velayati told reporters at Ankara airport after a brief meeting with his Turkish counterpart Emre Gonensay.

Velayati answered no questions at the airport, where he arrived in an unmarked jet, before leaving to meet Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz.

Turkey and Iran have asked each other to withdraw four of their diplomats in a row that began when Ankara accused Tehran of links to the killings of secularists and Iranian dissidents in Turkey.

Tehran then accused four Turkish diplomats of organising a spy ring in western Iran. The Iranian diplomats have returned to Tehran and their Turkish counterparts are due home soon.

Iran, along with much of the Moslem world, has also criticised Turkey for allowing Israeli air force jets to train in its air space under a military exchange accord. The Israeli pilots began flying from a Turkish base on Monday.

Velayati will also meet President Suleyman Demirel during his trip.-Reuter