Alwaght- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran on Wednesday where they conferred on major regional issues.
Speaking during a joint press conference with Erdogan after their talks, Rouhani said, “Fighting terrorism is one of the important objectives of the two countries. We need to fight any terrorist group anywhere, be it ISIS, al-Nusra Front or the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) or whatever name they have. Terrorists should know that regional governments will not allow them to carry out their cowardly and inhumane activities.”
The Iranian president said that he had held detailed talks with his Turkish counterpart on critical issues in the region, including the Syrian crisis and Iraq’s Kurdistan region, stressing that Ankara and Tehran sought the establishment of peace, stability and security in the entire region.
Touching on the September 25 referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the Iranian president described the Kurdish region as a good neighbor of Iran and Turkey, saying, “We do not want to impose pressure on Iraq’s Kurdistan people, but certain leaders of this region must make up for the wrong decisions they have made. Therefore, Turkey, Iran and Iraq have no choice but to take new and necessary measures to achieve their strategic goals in the region.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed out the role of Israeli spy agency Mossad in the recently-held illegitimate referendum in northern Iraq.
Erdogan said “What is the referendum organized by northern Iraq’s regional administration for? No country in the world apart from Israel recognizes it.
“A decision made at the table with Mossad is not legitimate, it is illegitimate.”
On Sept. 25, Iraqis in Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)-held areas -- and in several areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil -- voted on whether to declare independence from Iraq.
Meanwhile, senior officials from Iran and Turkey signed four cooperation agreements in the presence of the Iranian and Turkish presidents.
