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A poem recited by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Azerbaijan sparked a dispute between his country and Iran, prompting Tehran to accuse Ankara of undermining its territorial integrity.
“We condemn the aggressive comments directed at the president and our country under the pretext of a poem,” Erdogan communications director Fahrettin Altun said in response to a question on Saturday.
In a statement posted on the president’s website, Altun claimed that the Iranian authorities had tried to distort the overall context of the poem.
The chronicle of a … recitation
On Thursday, Erdogan recited a poem in the Azerbaijani capital Baku about the division of predominantly Azeri-populated areas between Iran and Russia in the 19th century.
Erdogan was heading to a military parade to celebrate Azerbaijan’s territorial achievements against Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Iran claimed that the poem was an interference in its internal affairs and called the Turkish ambassador in the Foreign Ministry. Turkey also summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday night.
Erdogan’s comments were “based on wishful thinking,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Friday.
The Turkish leader inadvertently recited a poem that “refers to the forced separation of the areas north of the Aras from the Iranian homeland,” Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter.
“NOBODY can talk about OUR beloved Azerbaijan,” he added.
Iran has two regions that share this name, West and East Azerbaijan. Along with the Ardabil province, more than 11 million Azeris live in the area.
Iran’s territorial integrity is not mentioned at all in the poem, Altun said, urging Tehran to avoid any rhetoric that could “overshadow our bilateral relations.”
Iran “must not forget” that Turkey supported it in difficult times and international pressure, Altun said without referring to any specific incident.
Turkey has harshly criticized the US sanctions against Iran, which are primarily aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program.
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