Iranian pres defines Turkey as friend and sister country

Turkey and Iran have rooted and strong historical and cultural relations, Ahmadinejad said during his meeting with Turkey's new ambassador, Selim Karaosmanoglu.

Ahmadinejad said the two countries were monitoring the developments in each other, and added he hoped bilateral relations would be boosted thanks to efforts of executives of the both countries.

Ahmadinejad is expected to pay a visit to Turkey next month at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.Â

During Ahmadinejad's visit to Ankara, the two sides are scheduled to sign several agreements on economic relations.

Turkey also efforts to ease the tension over Iran's nuclear row, as it continues to hold talks with Iranian officials regarding the issue.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan earlier this month had talks with Said Jalili, Iran's nuclear chief negotiator; Javier Solana, the European Union (EU) high representative for the common foreign and security policy; and foreign ministers of six countries that had prepared a package of proposals for Iran.

The six have offered Iran a package of incentives in return for freezing uranium enrichment, which the West fears could be part of a secret program to make a nuclear weapon.