Turkish Prime Minister insults Iran by calling general`s remarks on Patriots nonsense
Baku, December 22 (AZERTAC). With tension between Turkey and Iran over the deployment of Patriot missiles along Turkey`s border with Syria lingering for the foreseeable future, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the Iranian chief of General Staff uttered nonsense when he said stationing the Patriot missiles could set the stage for a world war.
Erdoğan criticized Iran over remarks threatening Turkey with respect to the Patriot deployment.
On Saturday, Iranian Chief of General Staff Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi warned NATO that stationing Patriot missiles on Turkey`s border with Syria is setting the stage for a world war.
Earlier this week Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akber Salehi also joined a growing chorus of criticism and warned Turkey, saying the Patriot move is provocative.
“It is believed here that stationing these missiles in Turkey is an act of provocation, not deterrence,” Salehi reportedly said.
Erdoğan slammed the remarks from Iran and asked who the Iranian chief of General Staff was speaking on behalf of.
“When we consult the Iranian president diplomatically on such remarks, he says those remarks reflect personal opinions, not Iran`s official position. Then you see someone else appear and speak. It is not clear who is talking on behalf of whom, whose remarks represent the country`s official stance and whose do not,” Erdoğan said, lamenting that the pattern in Iranian foreign policy discourse remains unchanged and ambiguous.
He previously complained about who represents Iran`s official stance when many politicians and military commanders issued threats against Turkey. Whenever Ankara contacts Tehran, the Iranian government backpedals and says the remarks are nothing more than personal views.
On the festering Syrian conflict, which has raised concerns of a regional conflagration and fuels fears of a spillover into neighboring countries, the Turkish prime minister said Turkey will not backtrack from its current stance.
As for the scenarios over the territorial integrity of Iraq, which recently become the scene of an armed standoff between troops loyal to the central government in Baghdad and Kurdish forces in the northern region, Erdoğan said: “The division of Iraq is being talked about, but I am of the opinion that this should not happen.”
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