Turkey, whose relations with Iran have recently become deformed, isn’t anticipated to attend the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran later this month, neither at the presidential nor ministerial level.
In accordance with an official from the presidential office, who spoke on circumstance of anonymity, President Abdullah Gül has no plans to attend to the summit in spite of an invitation from his Iranian counterpart.
The same official declared that Turkey wasn’t planning to attend to the summit from the very beginning as Turkey isn’t a member of the movement, which consists of 120 countries.
He added up that even if Turkey planned to attend, there are several factors which would prevent that from happening.
For the first time in the story of Turkey a single reception on the occasion of Victory Day, Aug. 30, will be hosted by the president at the Çankaya presidential palace different than previous years, when top commanders hosted separate receptions at military facilities.
“The summit is on August 29. On August 30, which is Victory Day for Turkey, President Gül will greet guests at Çankaya presidential place. This event will be coming about for the first time in the palace,” told the official.
The official added that a second reason preventing Gül from attending the summit is a health ailment.
