Turkey has no ‘secret agenda’ in Iraq: President’s spokesperson

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Turkish Presidential spokesperson said Thursday that Ankara is in favor of solving problems in Iraq and had no secret agenda in the country.

In a news conference, Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesperson of Turkey’s President, said that any mistakes in the military operation of liberating Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) led by the Iraqi security forces and the US-led coalition would result in thousands of refugees.

The relation between Ankara and Baghdad has been tensioned over which forces should participate in Mosul offensive. Kalin expressed Turkey’s concern over the possibility of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) participation in the military operation.

"Reports that the PKK may take part in the Mosul operation largely makes us concerned," the spokesperson added.

He mentioned that Turkey had no “secret agenda” in Iraq, but favored in resolving issues with Baghdad via dialogue.

PKK is labeled as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States. The group has fought Turkish government for more than three decades that over 40,000 people were killed, mostly Kurds.

"A mistake made there could eventually lead to hundreds of thousands of people becoming refugees. A mistake in the Mosul offensive will not be limited to Iraq, it will impact the entire region," Kalin noted.

Following the capture of Mosul by the jihadist group, Turkish troops were stationed in the north of the city and begun training Sunni militants in the area against IS. Iraq has repeatedly asked Turkey to withdraw its forces in the country, marking it as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Iraqi security and Kurdish Peshmerga forces with the Coalition countries are preparing to launch operation on Mosul to retake the second-largest city in Iraq from the jihadist group.

Editing by Ava Homa