Relations between Ankara and Tehran have been strained after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan gave an interview to Al Jazeera channel, Turkish newspaper Hürriyet reports.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry reported a meeting between Turkey’s Ambassador to Tehran Hijabi Kırlangıç and Mahmoud Heydari, Director General for Mediterranean and Eastern Europe at the Iranian Foreign Ministry. “The common interests of the two countries and the sensitivity of the conditions in the region require avoiding misinterpretations and unrealistic analyses, as such statements can lead to divergence and tension in bilateral relations,” Heydari said.
Following this statement, the Iranian Charge d’Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Ministry. In a statement released by the ministry, it was said that Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Ankara was summoned due to Tehran’s public criticism of Turkey’s policies. The Charge d’Affaires was told that foreign policy issues should not be instrumentalized for domestic politics.
WHAT DID HAKAN FIDAN SAY?
– In an interview last week, Foreign Minister Fidan emphasized that it would not be the right way for Iran to continue its policies like in the past regarding the allegations about the possibility of Iran supporting the PYD/YPG, the Syrian branch of the terrorist organization PKK, and said, “If you want to create discomfort by supporting a group in another country, another country wants to create discomfort for you by supporting another group in your country. Therefore, if you do not want stones thrown at your window, you will not throw stones at someone else’s window.”
Source: hurriyet.com.tr
