Turkey will make necessary moves at the right time and place for its own security, presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalin said, evaluating latest developments in Syria and Iraq.

Speaking on TRT television yesterday, Kalın touched on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent visit to Iran where he met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said the two countries agreed on maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq. "We have made the necessary warnings. If they will step back, we will have a positive approach. At the time they declare that the referendum is not valid, we will maintain our positive attitude," he said, speaking of the recently held independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

He said the approach that "every ethnic group must have a state" is not rational and that the disintegration of Iraq would never stop after it starts.

Kalın also criticized some European countries for being tolerant to terrorist groups, saying Europe is the place where these organizations carry out most of their propaganda and recruit the most people. "Our European allies' support in the fight against terrorism is only confined to words," he said.

He also spoke on the de-escalation zone planned to be formed in Idlib, contending that its aim is "preventing [the Bashar] Assad regime's violations in the region."

"Turkey will continue to take necessary steps by prioritizing its national interests, just like it has until now," he said.