“We do not recognize the illegitimate referendum of the northern Iraqi regional government,” said the Turkish top executive, on Wednesday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made the remarks at the joint presser with President Hassan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The two heads of states met in Sa’dabad Palace in northern Tehran as President Erdogan travelled to Tehran upon the invitation of President Rouhani.
“Turkey shares some 350 kilometers of its borderline [with the KRG] and to the east is Iran, to the south is central Iraq, and Syria to the west,” asserted the top Turkish official to reason for uselessness of the measure as he maintained that no country other than the Israeli regime recognized the referendum.
The Turkish official claimed that the Kurdish officials conducted the referendum after negotiating with the intelligence agency of the Israeli regime.
“The decision made while sitting at the table with Mossad cannot be legitimate, it is illegitimate,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan said the referendum had no legitimacy and had only been recognized by Israeli regime.
Iran and Turkey will work together to confront the disintegration of Iraq and Syria to ease tension in the crisis-hit region, Rouhani said after meeting with Erdoğan in Tehran.
Erdoğan also said they decided to conduct trade with Iran in local currencies.
He also said the goal of raising Turkish-Iranian trade volume to $30 billion from $10 billion remained on the agenda and the two countries would conduct trade in their own currencies to limit foreign exchange pressures.
“I am sure that with increase in the volume of trade and interactions, Iran and Turkey will enjoy broader ties with a more positive trend in the following years,” affirmed Mr. Erdogan.
He also recounted that Iranian and Turkish ministers held bilateral meetings to discuss bilateral issues.
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