ANKARA: Turkey urged Iran yesterday to pressure Syria’s regime to stop violence against its own people, as Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan brushed off Iranian criticism of Ankara’s plans to deploy Patriot missiles as “random remarks”.
Tensions between Iran and Turkey have spiked in the wake of Nato’s decision to deploy the US-made missiles along the Turkish-Syrian border in case of an attack emanating from Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu waded into the diplomatic melee yesterday, urging Tehran to focus its energies on sending “clear messages” to the Syrian regime rather than protesting the missile deployment.
“Instead of criticising the (Patriot missile) system, Iran should say stop to the Syrian regime that has been continuously oppressing its own people and provoking Turkey through border violations,” Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara.AFP
