Remarks on Iran chill mood between Erdogan, Sarkozy

Despite NATO leaders' agreement at the weekend Lisbon summit not to name Iran as a threat, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday continued criticizing remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy about Tehran. After Sarkozy said, "We call a cat a cat. The threat here is Iran," Erdogan said he doesn't share that view. "I don't know what you took away from Mr. Sarkozy's remarks," Erdogan told reporters. "We also call a cat a cat. But even if there's no target, he says what's on his mind. We never thought that way and we still don't." Following the summit, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke by telephone with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki and Said Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. Speaking to reporters, Davutoglu said both Jalili and Mottaki conveyed their appreciation for Turkey insisting that Iran not be named as a threat in the weekend agreement on the NATO missile shield.