The withdrawal of Turkish troops from Iraq is out of question, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, promising to “cooperate” on the issue with the US-led anti-ISIS coalition.
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Kurtulmus said that the training had been going on for a long time in that part of Iraq, adding that Turkey had been working with the country’s central government from the beginning.
The recent deployment of Turkish military troops to Bashiqa, near Mosul, caused a diplomatic spat between Ankara and Baghdad.
Erdogan however announced a trilateral meeting between Turkey, Northern Iraq Kurdish leaders and U.S. officials scheduled to take place on December 21, according to AP.
Turkish jets hit targets in the Qandil, Hakurk, Zap and Avasin Baysan areas of northern Iraq, targeting storage units and shelters for the militants, the Turkish army said on Wednesday.
“Though, of course, they can not in our presence criticize their ally – Turkey, but it was clear that in fact they were not happy with the actions Turkey had undertaken”.
“We want the secretariat to tell us what is happening in the region”, said Peter Iliichev, Russia’s representative to the UN Security Council.
Barzani has long-standing ties with Ankara, and there are multiple Turkish military sites in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
“Our understanding of the original Turkish deployment is that it was negotiated with the Iraqi government”.
An earlier statement by Iraq’s Council of Ministers, headed by Abadi, said “Iraq’s sovereignty and its geographical borders are a red line particularly since there exists no signed agreement between Iraq nor any accord permitting Turkey to trespass the country’s borders under any pretext”.
Alhakim said Russian Federation had not consulted Iraq before raising the issue.
Turkey halted the additional deployment following Iraqi protests.
“Turkey’s decision to deploy its troops to Iraq and reluctance to withdraw them even after the Iraqi government’s demands is a flagrant violation of United Nations law and worldwide norms as such”, Dolgov said. It threatened to refer the case to the Security Council unless Turkey withdraws its forces.
Iraq’s foreign ministry said Turkish forces had entered Iraqi territory without the knowledge of Baghdad, who view their presence as a “hostile act”.
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A protest against Turkish intervention in Iraq has been scheduled in Baghdad for Saturday.
