Azerbaijan: poem stirs tensions between Turkey and Iran
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, December 10, 2020. via REUTERS - MURAT CETINMUHURDAR / PPO
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2 min
Turkish President Erdogan's visit to Azerbaijan this week continues to make waves.
A poem in particular provokes an exchange of criticisms between Turkey and Iran.
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan was greeted with great fanfare this week in Azerbaijan, a Turkish-speaking country which has received decisive military support from
Turkey
in the conflict of recent weeks against Armenia.
During
his visit
, the Turkish president recited a poem that immediately made Iranian leaders jump.
According to the head of Iranian diplomacy, the text did not refer to the state of Azerbaijan but to the Iranian province which bears the same name.
This is a sensitive issue for Iran, whose population includes a large Turkish-speaking minority.
For Tehran, this is an attack on its sovereignty.
"
Offensive language
"
The tone rose between the two countries.
Iran summoned the Turkish ambassador to Tehran and so did Turkey with the Iranian representative in Ankara.
This Saturday, December 12, Turkey denounced "
the offensive language
" of the Islamic Republic.
The exchange may seem trivial, but it says a lot about the
increasingly delicate
neighborly relationship
between these two regional powers.
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(Re) listen: Iran-Turkey: towards a new strategic rivalry in the Middle East?
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Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
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