Turkey's foreign minister to visit Britain for talks on Iran, Ukraine, source says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will make an official visit to London this week for talks on the wars in Iran and Ukraine, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Wednesday, adding that he will also discuss cooperation between the NATO allies.

Turkey, which neighbors Iran and is in close contact with Tehran, Washington, and mediator Pakistan, hosted a diplomacy forum at the weekend attended by delegations from all sides. It has repeatedly called for an end to the conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier that he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran to allow for further peace talks.

Fidan's visit comes as the British government said military planners from more than 30 countries would hold two-day talks in London from Wednesday to advance a mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

More than a dozen countries said last week they were willing to join an international mission, led by Britain and France, to protect ‌shipping in the strait when conditions permit. Fidan has warned of difficulties with such a mission.

During his two-day visit, Fidan will also repeat Turkey's readiness to contribute to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the source said, after Kyiv said on Wednesday it had asked Turkey to host a leaders' level meeting with Russia.

He will also convey Ankara's request to finalise a free trade agreement with Britain and emphasise the importance of deepening defence industry and energy cooperation between the allies, the source added.

-Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler, Alexandra Hudson/Reuters