BAGHDAD, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday arrived in Baghdad on an official visit to hold talks with Iraqi leaders over means to develop bilateral relations and development in the Middle East, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.
A statement by the ministry said that the Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim received his Turkish counterpart and the two held a meeting, in which they discussed bilateral ties and means to continue cooperation and coordination.
The two sides also discussed "regional and international issues of mutual interest and the importance of concerted efforts towards calm in the region and support of peace tracks in this delicate situation," according to the statement.
Cavusoglu's visit came hours after the Iraqi President Barham Salih arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon and returned to Baghdad at dawn on Wednesday, as he held a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The meeting of Erdogan and Salih "focused on regional and international developments," according to a statement issued earlier in the day by the media office of the Iraqi presidency.
The meetings of the Iraqi and Turkish leaders came amid escalation of tension between the United States and Iran, which has borders with both Iraq and Turkey.
The United States has also increased its military buildup in the region recently by deploying an aircraft carrier, bombers and anti-missile systems, citing a threat of Iranian attack.
