Turkey set to welcome four foreign ministers through next week

In a hectic week ahead, just after Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's return today from a tour that took him to Syria, Afghanistan and Vietnam, Turkey is set to play host to several of his overseas counterparts. First up is Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who is expected to arrive in Istanbul tomorrow. Davutoglu and Amorim are expected to discuss the possible revival of talks with Tehran and the Turkish-Brazilian role in new negotiations over Iran's controversial nuclear program. Iran is also expected to be a top item in talks with several top European officials visiting Turkey next week. British Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by his Foreign Secretary William Hague, is to visit Turkey on Monday and Tuesday. On the sidelines of Cameron's talks, Hague and Davutoglu are also expected to have a bilateral meeting. Also on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will visit Istanbul for talks with Davutoglu, to be followed on Wednesday by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who will meet with Davutoglu in Ankara. In addition to Iran, tensions between Turkey and Israel, Mideast peace efforts, and Turkey's European Union membership bid are also expected to be discussed during next week's talks. Davutoglu yesterday had talks with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Vietnam, where he was attending a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). A cooperation agreement is expected to be signed between Turkey and ASEAN today.