UPDATE - Erdogan extends Eid greetings to Muslim leaders

UPDATES WITH MORE TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS, REVISED HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Semra Orkan, Etem Geylan, Emrah Guney

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late Thursday and Friday spoke with his counterparts in Muslim countries to extend Eid greetings.

Erdogan had separate telephone conversations with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, and Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid.

On Friday, the first day of Eid-Al Adha in Turkey and several other Muslim countries, Erdogan also exchanged Eid greetings with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Conveying best wishes from the government and the people of Turkey to the government and peoples of the various countries, Erdogan also stressed the significance of Eid Al-Adha to encourage performing good deeds, according to Turkish presidential sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

During the conversations, Erdogan stressed their joint efforts to defuse the ongoing crisis in Myanmar and its Rohingya Muslims as soon as possible.

The president also extended Eid greetings to his counterparts in Mauritania, Pakistan, Iran and Qatar on Thursday.