Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Najaf and Karbala on his second day in Iraq.

Foreign Minister Davutoğlu who met with Shiite leaders Muqteda El Sadr and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf said that meetings were held towards establishing strong ties with every community in Iraq and it was discussed what can be done to prevent the problems in the region from evolving into a sectarian conflict. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said “We are trying to prevent a sectarian conflict. There are those who are trying to provoke, and there will be. We have seen in our meetings here that there are some disagreements however these are not deep divisions and could be solved through consultations.”

Foreign Minister Davutoğlu also paid a visit to Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf and Imam Husayn Mosque and Imam Al Abbas Mosque in Karbala.