Iran Summons Turkish Envoy Over Erdogan's 'Separatist' Statements in Azerbaijan

The Turkish president recited several lines from a folk song about the reunification of lands that run along the Azerbaijani-Iranian border during a military parade in Baku on 10 December, sparking criticism from Tehran.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Turkish Ambassador to the country, Derya Örs, to hand him a note of protest regarding the controversial speech by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the military parade in Azerbaijan devoted to the end of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Foreign Ministry notified the Turkish envoy that Erdogan's words at the parade were "unacceptable" and warned Ankara against attempts to violate the Islamic Republic's territorial integrity.

"The Turkish ambassador was notified that the era of territorial claims and military imperial expansion has long been over", the Iranian Foreign Ministry's statement said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Javad Zarif earlier criticised Erdogan's speech in Baku over him citing a piece of poetry deemed "separatist" in Iran. The poetry is believed to be a motto of groups championing the unification of the Turkic peoples.

Pres. Erdogan was not informed that what he ill-recited in Baku refers to the forcible separation of areas north of Aras from Iranian motherland

Didn't he realize that he was undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan?

NO ONE can talk about OUR beloved Azerbaijan

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) December 11, 2020

The Turkish president cited several verses from a folk song about the unification of the lands by the Aras River, separating the state of Azerbaijan from the region of Iranian Azerbaijan – an area heavily populated by Azeris. The land north of the river, currently a part of Azerbaijan, used to belong to Iran until its separation in the 19th century.