Turkey would invade Iraq if threatened: FM
"We will use all of our means if there is a threat to Turkey's security and stability from the developments in Iraq."
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed on Tuesday that his country would consider a ground offensive into the Kurdistan Region and Iraq if it came under threat from there.
"We will use all of our means if there is a threat to Turkey's security and stability from the developments in Iraq," explained the Turkish FM who was speaking to the pro-government TV 24.
Cavusoglu said the Ezidi Kurdish town of Shingal (Sinjar) where the PKK has had bases since the Islamic State (IS) occupation in mid-2014 posed a threat to Turkey.
Turkish officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have insisted on participation in an ongoing operation that began last week to capture the Iraqi city of Mosul from the IS.
Cavusoglu mentioned Turkey's Euphrates Shield Operation in Syria that aims to drive the IS from its southern border and deny the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) more territorial against as an example of his country's cross-border security measures.
The Turkish FM's remarks on the prospects of invading Iraq came a day after his earlier avowal on Monday to not allow PKK's presence in Shingal.
In Iraq, the Turkish Army has been operating against the PKK fighters with the approval of central Iraqi governments since the start of the Kurdish uprising in Turkey in 1984.
Turkey has staged five major ground incursions into Iraq in offensives on PKK bases in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region. The first was in 1992 and the last of them in 2008.
In July 2015, Turkey restarted an air campaign into Iraq, after the collapse of a two year-held ceasefire and peace negotiations with the PKK.
Early in October 2016, the Turkish Parliament extended a mandate that allowed the army to conduct cross-border operations in Syria and Iraq.
Editing by Ava Homa