Iraq welcomes Turkish withdrawal announcement

The foreign ministry statement also said there had been a “lack of communication” with Baghdad on the matter and that Ankara “would continue to coordinate with the Iraqi government over its military contribution to the country in the fight against Daesh (ISIL)”.

Updating the Council on events that took place earlier in the week, Mr. Feltman said that on 14 December, Turkey publicly announced that some of its troops had recently entered Iraq had begun leaving the Bashiqa area as part of a re-arrangement.

“Turkey, in recognition of the Iraqi concerns and in accordance with the requirements of the fight against Daesh [IS], is continuing to move military forces from Nineveh province that were the source of miscommunication”.

President Barack Obama is urging Turkey to continue pulling its troops out of Iraq in a bid to resolve the dispute between the two countries.

The question I would like to ask you is that well clearly the territorial integrity if not the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq has been violated but it is not the first time.

“The delegation had, according to the Turkish Prime Minister, agreed “to re-arrange the military personnel of the Turkish security force”, the United Nations political chief said”. The negotiations initially went well, but later collapsed after Turkey refused to completely withdraw the troops.

Turkey sent at least 150 troops into northern Iraq earlier this month saying they were to protect military trainers.

The Iraqi government has demanded the “complete withdrawal” of Turkish forces from its territory, indicating Ankara’s partial pullout was not enough.

The base came under fire from Islamic State on Wednesday, when militants fired rockets as they launched a wave of attacks against Kurdish forces.