Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared at the G-20 summit in Pittsburg of intention to visit Iran and Iraq, as Turkish government seeks to act as “dove of peace” in the region. Erdogan plans to meet with President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad either in October or November, 2009.

“We expressed our position on Iran at the UN Security Council. We will pay a visit to Iran by late October or November to canvass the details,” Erdogan said.

Turkish PM made the statement after Iranian authorities disclosed to IAEA the existence of a secret uranium enrichment plant. Erdogan emphasized that Turkey has already expressed its position and henceforth intends to hold bilateral negotiations with Iran on the matter.

As for Iraq, Turkey made an attempt to normalize its relations with Syria in August. The countries broke their diplomatic relations when Baghdad accused Damask of providing shelter to Iraqi rebels. Afterwards, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with authorities of Iraq and Syria.