ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has summoned the Iranian ambassador to demand an end to reports in Iranian state media linking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric.
A Foreign Ministry statement released late Thursday says Turkey protested reports suggesting that the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was linked to Erdogan's recent visit to Riyadh.
The ministry said: "We strongly condemned statements that accuse our president and asked that these kinds of publications are halted."
It also criticized attacks on two Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.
Turkey's government has urged both Riyadh and Tehran to ease tensions, criticizing both the execution of the cleric and the attacks on missions. Erdogan said later however, that the executions were Saudi Arabia's internal affair.
