Turkey will not withdraw troops from an Iraqi camp close to the northern Daesh-controlled city of Mosul, said President Tayyip Erdogan, condemning Iraq’s appeal to the UN Security Council about Turkish forces’ presence, which deemed it to be “not honest.”
“They can resort to the UN Security Council, that is their natural right, but this is not an honest step and we believe that Iraq’s actions are related to the latest developments in the region, that is, the steps taken by Russia and Iran,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan’s comments came shortly before Iraq sent a letter to the UN Security Council demanding an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Turkish troops from Iraq.
“We call on the Security Council to demand that Turkey withdraw its forces immediately … and not to violate Iraqi sovereignty again,” Iraqi Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said in a letter to US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, who is currently the president of the Security Council’s rotating seat.
“This is considered a flagrant violation of the principles of the UN Charter, and a violation of Iraqi territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Iraq,” the letter said.
The Iraqi envoy send the letter following Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi’s instructions which had been given earlier on Friday. In its plea to the UNSC, the Iraqi side stated that bilateral diplomacy had failed to work to resolve the crisis against an “aggressive act.”
Taking to Twitter, the Iraqi Prime Minister reiterated that Turkey’s actions constitute a “flagrant violation of sovereignty.” At the same time, Abadi said that it is the “constitutional and national duty to protect the country and defend its security and sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The PM promised to take “all measures” and resort to “all legitimate means” to protect Iraq.
Baghdad however keeps on reminding Ankara daily that the latest deployment of some 150 soldiers and a few dozen tanks was done without the permission or consent of from Iraq. Iraqi MPs told RT that Erdogan’s justification of the deployment is an “absolute lie” as it comes in an area where no Iraqi troops are present.
Iraq has also repeated that it wants to resolve the tension peacefully through negotiations and diplomatic means. On Thursday the Iraqi capital welcomed a Turkish delegation, including its head of intelligence Hakan Fidan.
“The Turkish delegation was told that the only way to resolve the crisis is the full withdrawal of Turkish troops from Iraqi territory, and this will open the way for positive relation[s],” Thursday’s statement from the Iraqi PM said.
