Turkey will not stand idle in face of security threats

Turkey will not stand idly by in the face of terrorist threats to its national security, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday.

According to sources in the Turkish presidency, Erdogan briefed his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during a telephone call on Ankara’s recent military operations against Daesh and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Erdogan said the state of chaos and instability in Syria and Iraq has negatively affected neighbouring countries, adding that Ankara has exercised the right to self-defence in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and informed the UN Security Council and NATO of its plans.

Meanwhile, Rouhani told Erdogan that Iran and Turkey “should form a joint plan and a practical solution for uprooting terrorism in the region.”

“A consolidation and expansion of ties between Tehran and Ankara is of paramount importance to us,” he said.

The Iranian president sent his condolences to his Turkish counterpart for victims of terrorist attacks which targeted Turkey during the past few days.

Turkey has initiated a large-scale military operation against Daesh and the PKK in Syria, northern Iraq and internally in the wake of terrorist attacks against its army.