Gül, Ahmadinejad to attend OIC summit on Syria in Mecca

The summit, held by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), will take place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, from Aug. 15-16. Syria is expected to the main focus of the summit. Leaders of all 57 member states have been invited to attend the summit, which is expected to be preceded by a gathering of members' foreign ministers on Aug. 13, again in Mecca.

Iranian media has said Ahmadinejad will also attend the summit. “Ahmadinejad will be present at this summit at the invitation of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia,” Mohammad Reza Forghani, director of international affairs for Ahmadinejad's office, was quoted as saying by Iranian state news agency IRNA.

The 17-month uprising in Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad has strained Iran's ties with both Turkey and the Sunni Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia's Sunni leaders have accused predominantly Shiite Iran of stoking what they see as sectarian unrest in the region. Iran has expressed support for Shiite-led protests in Bahrain against the ruling Sunni Al Khalifa family, allies of Saudi Arabia.

Turkey, one of the staunchest opponents of Assad, is expected to reiterate once again that Assad is bound to be ousted and to call for greater international pressure on the embattled Syrian leader.