Ministry invites Iranian chargé d'affaires over anti-Türkiye remarks

ANKARA

Foreign Ministry has invited chargé d'affaires of the Iranian Embassy over recent anti-Türkiye remarks by some Iranian officials, the spokesman of the ministry has said.

Öncü Keçeli, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, in response to a question on March 4, informed that the Iranian diplomat was invited to the ministry about the claims raised by some Iranian officials.

Recalling that Türkiye and Iran are in constant dialogue, Keçeli said the meeting did cover bilateral issues as well as some criticisms by some Iranian officials on Türkiye. He said a dossier that lists these public criticisms has already been handed to the Iranian officials.

“We believe that foreign policy matters should not be instrumentalized for domestic politics. In this frame, we prefer to convey our critical message directly to our interlocutors,” he stated.

Türkiye values its ties with Iran and wants to further develop them, the spokesman stated.

Ankara’s move came days after the Iranian Foreign Ministry invited Turkish Ambassador to Iran Hicabi Kırlangıç to express Tehran’s disturbance over Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s statements on Iran’s regional policies.

Some Iranian media said the ambassador had been summoned, but the ministry did not describe the meeting thus.

Also on March 3, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran values "bilateral relations with Türkiye very highly" but that the government thought it was essential to respond to the minister's remarks "decisively."