Ahmadinejad´s trip also drew severe criticism in Turkey because of the Iranian president´s unwillingness to visit the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. Ankara downgraded the visit from "official state visit" to "working visit" to alleviate the anger.

Sheikh-Attar told reporters on Thursday that Ahmadinejad and Gül will in their talks touch on issues of mutual interest as well as international and regional events.

  He said that under the current sensitive juncture, Iran and Turkey could play a decisive role in the region through mutual cooperation.

  Three committees – the economic committee, the border, consulate and security Committee, and the energy and transportation Committee – were formed after the first round of mutual talks Thursday to draw up highlights of mutual cooperation.

Turkish Daily News, August 9,  2008

Thanks to Ahmedinejad, I went to airport in about 2 hours. Normally, it takes about 20-30 minutes. All the roads from airport to Çırağan Palace were closed. There were a traffic jam all the way... My aunt nearly catch her plane.

The rumour goes that Turkey is only so friendly and so careful because Iran owns most of the gas Turkey inports......