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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“Iraq does not need foreign ground forces and the Iraqi government is committed not to allow the presence of any ground force on Iraqi land”, the prime minister said in a statement. Russia hopes the reaction of members of the UN Security Council to Turkey’s deployment of the military in Iraq will “cool hot minds in Ankara” and they will not undertake new reckless activities, including in Syria, Russia’s Ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin told reporters after the closed meeting of the Security Council, “Armenpress” reports, citing TASS.
Last week, Turkey deployed about 150 troops and 25 tanks to a base in Iraq’s Nineveh province, without bothering to get permission from Baghdad.
The Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi, received a telephone call from the President of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, on Tuesday, on the entry of Turkish troops to Iraq.
Turkish officials, however, said the forces were sent there at the request of Iraqi leaders. But experts say Iraq’s fractured political elite probably prefers a weak leader who won’t upset the status quo. The level of distrust between Iraq’s Sunnis and the central government is so high, the diplomat said, that a mediating force is needed to effectively execute military operations in Sunni-dominated territory.
The Russian envoy said Turkey’s actions were unexpected to the USA, though Washington chose not to criticize the ally.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the change in advice was due to Iraq’s security situation, threats towards Turkish companies and the “growing remarks from various circles against Turkey’s interests and encouraging acts of violence, terror, demonstration and kidnapping”.
Authorities say the Turkish army has trained local Iraqis in the Bashiqa area since March, indicating the troops have not been given any combat mission.
The crisis was triggered over the weekend as reports stated that a Turkish training battalion, equipped with armored vehicles, was deployed near the city of Mosul in order to train Iraqi paramilitary groups against Islamic State militants.
As The National reported yesterday, the Turkish troop build-up has sparked outrage from Baghdad, which has labelled the move a violation of the country’s national boundaries.
The furor is the latest blow to Turkey’s beleaguered regional relations.
Iraqi foreign minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, attended a special session of the Iraqi parliament earlier in the day to brief the lawmakers on the case. Iraqi officials later showed signs of easing tension, with Iraqi Ambassador to the UN Mohamed Alhakim saying talks with Turkey “are going extremely well”.
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“I think now he’s missed the boat”, said Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, a Shiite lawmaker and a former member of al-Abadi’s Dawa party.
