Iranian Spokesman Slams Turkish President’s ‘Baseless’ Remarks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi rejected as “baseless and meddlesome” recent remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Tehran, saying Ankara is playing a blame game to justify its expansionist policies.
“Unfortunately, Turkish officials keep making baseless, meddlesome and troublesome remarks against their neighbors,” Qassemi said in a statement issued on Sunday evening.
“By accusing others and repeating false claims, they (Turkish officials) are trying to justify their meddlesome and expansionist policies toward their neighbors,” he added.
Speaking at a Turkish-British forum in the southern city of Antalya on Saturday, Erdogan accused Iran of pursuing "racist and discriminatory" policies in Iraq.
The Iranian spokesperson also dismissed as “incorrect” recent comments made by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, who claimed that some three million refugees, mostly Afghans, were trying to go to Turkey from Iran, expressing concern that Iran was "ignoring their demand for migration."
“Iran has been hosting millions of refugees from its neighboring countries for more than 30 years,” Qassemi said.
"Turkey should learn from Iran how it has hosted millions of refugees for more than three decades and has never abused this human and humanitarian issue for specific and politically-motivated purposes against any other country,” the Iranian spokesman stated.
He further urged Turkish officials to avoid confusing humanitarian issues with political disputes, urging them to respect the national sovereignty of their neighboring countries, particularly Iraq and Syria.
