Iraq, Turkey summon ambassadors after mutual condemnations

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iraq and Turkey on Wednesday summoned each other’s ambassadors after mutual condemnations over the Turkish military’s presence on Iraqi soil.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Iraq’s ambassador to Ankara Hisham Ali Akbar Ibrahim al-Alawi in the morning, said the Kurdistan24 bureau in the Turkish capital.

Following the reports from Ankara, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad, Faruk Kaymakci.

The escalating row in diplomacy was caused by the Iraqi Parliament’s harsh condemnation of the Turkish military presence at a base near the town of Bashiqa in the northern Nineveh Province as an occupation.

Turkish officials say their military is there to train local Sunni fighters to take part in an expected operation against the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul.

In response, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry in a press release said it condemned Tuesday’s Iraqi call for a withdrawal of its forces and labeled the “accusations” against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “outrageous.”

The Turkish President advocated liberating the IS-held city of Mosul with the participation of only “Sunni Arab, Sunni Turkmen, and Sunni Kurds” in an interview with the Dubai-based Rotana TV.

Iraqi MPs accused Erdogan of wanting to divide the country’s communities by inciting sectarian and ethnic strife.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey that keeping troops in northern Iraq could lead to a “regional war,” according to comments broadcast on state TV on Wednesday, said Reuters.

“The Turkish leadership’s behavior is not acceptable, and we don’t want to get into a military confrontation with Turkey,” stated Abadi during a Tuesday evening press conference.

Last Saturday, Erdogan declared his country could not be excluded in Mosul in an opening speech to the Turkish Assembly that started its new legislative year by extending a military mandate allowing the army to resume operations in Syria and Iraq.

Turkey deployed around 150 soldiers and tanks to Bashiqa last year in a move opposed by the Iraqi government as well as Iran, Russia, and the United States.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany