Turkish Envoy Summoned by Iran’s Foreign Ministry over Erdogan’s Remarks

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Derya Örs has been summoned after Erdogan’s “meddlesome and unacceptable” remarks made during his trip to Baku.

“Tehran has expressed its ‘strong protest’ against such remarks, urging the Turkish government to offer explanations as soon as possible,” Khatibzadeh said.  

“The era of claiming lands and warmongering empires has long ended,” an official at Iran’s Foreign Ministry said during the meeting with the Turkish diplomat.

The Turkish president traveled to Baku on Thursday to attend a military parade of Azerbaijani forces on the occasion of the liberation of the Armenian-occupied territories.

At the ceremony, which was also attended by Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Erdogan read out poems including separatist sentiments about the Aras River which runs along the Iran-Azerbaijan border.

In relevant remarks, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized the Turkish President Recep Teyyep Erdogan’s recitation of a piece of poetry that contained nationalist sentiments, stressing that no one can talk about Iran's “beloved” Azerbaijan.

Zarif on his Twitter account, blasted Erdogan’s provocative poems in Baku on Thursday, warning him that such remarks would undermine the sovereignty of Azerbaijan Republic.