Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that his country is asking the Iraqi authorities to put an end to the presence of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the city of Kirkuk.
Fidan added in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in the capital, Tehran, who arrived today on an official visit: that they are following “with sadness and concern what is happening in the city of Kirkuk.”
He stressed that “peace and stability in Kirkuk affect peace and stability in Iraq as a whole, and we see Kirkuk as a symbol of the culture of peaceful coexistence.”
He also said: We exchanged views on measures that can be taken in response to insulting Islam in Europe, and focused on coordinating joint bodies between the two countries (Turkey and Iran) and adopting diplomacy to solve outstanding problems.
The Turkish Foreign Minister added: We discussed finding solutions to the Syrian crisis, and we see the need for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their country, in addition to discussing the issue of terrorist organizations, foremost of which is the PKK.
For his part, the Iranian Foreign Minister said: My Turkish counterpart presented positive and constructive stances on Syria and the return of Syrian refugees, and we stress the need to respect Syria’s sovereignty and not to prejudice its territorial integrity.
Abdullahian indicated that Turkey welcomed the return of Iran’s relations with Saudi Arabia, and an economic meeting will be held later that will bring together Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
On the issue of insulting the Holy Qur’an in Sweden and Denmark, the Iranian Foreign Minister stressed the need to take effective measures to confront the insult to Islamic sanctities, and that he discussed this aspect with his Turkish counterpart.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency