Photos: Erdogan Hosts Iftar Dinner and Sits Next to Armenian Patriarch

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held an iftar dinner during the month of Ramadan (the Muslim fasting month) with representatives of national and religious minorities.

The iftar served at the Beştepe Presidential Complex in Ankara was attended by the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, the leader of the Armenian Catholic Church in Turkey, Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, the president of the Armenian Foundations Union and the board of trustees of the Surp Prkich Hospital, Petros Shirinoglu, the vice president of the Armenian Hospital, Herman Balayan, and the acting president of the Armenian St. James Catholic Foundation, Antoine Sultanoglu.

The dinner hosted by the Turkish president also saw the participation of spiritual and secular leaders from the Jewish and Assyrian Catholic communities. The Vice President of Turkey, Fuat Oktay, the Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, and the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Administration, Ali Erbaş, were also present.