American envoy: the US opposes Turkish military deployment in Iraq without the latter's consent

ERBIL (K24, Agencies) - The US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Brett McGurk stated in a series of tweets early on Monday that the US opposes military deployments inside Iraq without the approval of the Iraqi Federal Government.

Brett McGurk stated that his government's approach also meant that the United States does not support the deployment of its own military personnel, as well as deployment "from any other country" absent Iraqi government consent.

Last Friday Turkey deployed several hundred troops in Bashiqa area, some 30 kilometers north of the Islamic-State controlled city of Mosul in Nineveh Province. American officials told Reuters the US was aware of the Turkish deployment but clarified that it was not part of the U.S.-led coalition's activities.

A multi-ethnic Yazidi Kurdish-majority town, Bashiqa is under Kurdish Peshmerga forces' control since last year when they with American air support defeated the Islamic State group there. Bashiqa and its environs legally remain in the disputed territories yet to be resolved between the Kurdistan Region and the Iraqi Federal Government.

The US envoy stated that a recent phone call between the Turkish and Iraqi Defense Ministers was "a positive and constructive step forward." McGurk said that the US was "encouraged by reports that Turkish military forces have pulled back from the Iraqi border as diplomatic engagements proceed." McGurk fell short from elaborating by what he meant exactly, as the recent Turkish deployment is well inside Iraqi territory. He called on Turkey and Iraq to bring the issue to a diplomatic resolution as partners and friends in the fight against the Islamic State group.

The Turkish deployment of increased personnel and tanks at a Bashiqa base set up last year to train anti-IS Sunni Arab fighters received harsh protests from the Iraqi Federal government, including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who said Sunday his country might turn to the United Nations Security Council if Turkish troops were not withdrawn within 48 hours.

Iraqi President Fouad Massoum, in an online statement released on presidency website on Saturday called the deployment of several hundred Turkish troops "a violation of international norms and law" and said it would raise regional tensions. Iraq's Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador Faruk Kaymakci the same day to demand that Turkey immediately withdraws its troops.

Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesperson Safeen Dizayee said in an online statement released Saturday on KRG website that apart from the Bashiqa base there are two other Turkish bases set up last year for the training of Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Soran and Qalacholan areas respectively in Erbil and Slemani Provinces.

The KRG spokesperson also explained that the controversial Turkish deployment in Bashiqa was part of an "expert and equipment reinforcement" to a training base there, suggesting it was a routine rotation of duty.