MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the Middle East countries to unite against sectarian hatred.
"There are intentions to divide us [Middle East countries], that's why we should unite our efforts. Look what is going on in Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Libya," Erdogan told Al Arabiya News Channel.
Erdogan said that inter-religious divisions should not have a negative impact on relations between the countries in the region, especially between Ankara and Tehran.
In addition to the fact that they confess different branches of Islam, Turkey and Iran also have different views on several political problems in the Middle East, including the future of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Turkish involvement in oil smuggling operations from the territories occupied by the Islamic State (IS, or Daesh in Arabic) militant group, which is outlawed in many states, such as the United States and Russia.
