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Summary
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to meet fellow Muslim leaders on the sidelines of a D8 summit in Nigeria on Thursday after Western nations slapped fresh sanctions on his country over its nuclear programme. Turkish President Abdullah Gul would also attend the Developing Eight (D8) summit in Abuja, raising the possibility that damaged relations between Turkey and Israel following a deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships will be examined. The Istanbul-based D8 groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, with a total population of 930 million people. Turkey warned Israel on Monday it will cut ties unless it gets an apology for the bloodshed on a Turkish ship, but the Jewish state said it will never say sorry for defending itself. The talks open on Thursday, a week after Nigeria took over the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council. Last month, 12 members of the Security Council, including all five permanent members, voted to impose fresh sanctions against Iran over its uranium enrichment programme, the most controversial aspect of its nuclear drive. Brazil and Turkey, which had brokered a nuclear swap deal with Iran in May, voted against while Lebanon abstained.
