Turkish president hosts religious minority group representatives at iftar dinner

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday hosted representatives of religious minority groups in the country for a fast-breaking dinner, or iftar.

Among the participants at the iftar dinner were Armenian Patriarch of Turkiye Sahak Mashalian, Turkish Jews Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva, Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Yusuf Cetin, Turkish Syriac-Catholic Church Patriarchal Vicar Orhan Canli, Deputy Patriarch of Armenian Catholic Community Levon Zekiyan, and Kadikoy Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis.

Bedros Sirinoglu, chairman of the Union of Armenian Foundations; Herman Baliyan, deputy head of the Armenian Hospital; Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, co-chair of the Turkish Jewish Community; Konstantin Yuvanidis, president of the Balikli Greek Hospital Foundation; Sait Susin, head of the Istanbul-based Syriac Church Foundation; Munir Uckardes, president of the Syriac Catholic Community Foundation; and Antuan Sultanoglu, deputy chairman of the Armenian Catholic Surp Agop Foundation, were also among the participants of the iftar dinner at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, and Ali Erbas, head of Turkiye's top religious body Diyanet, were also present at the iftar dinner.

Iftar is the evening meal which Muslims end their daily fast at sunset during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.