Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan replied the journalists’ questions how he will comment on Feb. 22 shoe throwing incident. “This is natural. I learnt that the protestor was a Syrian citizen and resided in Spain illegally. Later, local authorities will inform of the incident details.”

As NEWS.am reported previously, February 22, the unknown threw his shoe at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after Nodo award ceremony in Sevilla, Spain. The man approached Erdogan and aimed his shoe at him shouting “Long live free Kurdistan!”

Though the shoe did not hit the target, security guards detained the pop-visit. According to Spanish El Pais, the intruder is a Syrian citizen of Kurdish origin, residing in Spain illegally, and was expecting to be deported.

In Eastern world shoe throwing is perceived as disrespect. This gesture became common in Baghdad, when in 2008 an Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi threw his shoe at the U.S. President George Bush.

L.A.