Ankara, Baghdad to discuss Turkish troops presence in Iraq

Turkey’s decision to send troops and tanks into Iraq without asking for Baghdad’s permission has brought the question of Iraqi sovereignty back to the forefront of regional challenges.

There are some 3,500 United States troops in Iraq to train and advise local forces.

The interview came after Turkey deployed hundreds of personnel to a camp in northern Iraq’s Bashiqa region, located near the city of Mosul, now controlled by Daesh, (ISIL/ISIS).

A Turkish military presence in northern Iraq is part of “planned training”, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Wednesday.

Iraq does not need foreign ground forces, and the Iraqi government is committed not to allow the presence of any ground force on Iraqi land.

This is while earlier Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Ankara is not going to send new military units to Iraq, and also bring out the already existing military contingent.

Baghdad on Sunday gave Turkey a 48-hour deadline and threatened to appeal to the UN Security Council unless the troops are withdrawn.

Kalin said the issue could be resolved through dialogue with Iraq.

“Our understanding of the original Turkish deployment is that it was negotiated with the Iraqi government”.

Erdogan told reporters Thursday that the troops were deployed in 2014 in response to a request from the Iraqi government.

Though officially the expansion was related to concerns about threats from ISIS, they also cited “declarations encouraging violence” against Turkish companies among Iraqi Shi’ite groups in recent weeks.

“Our belief is that just as we operate in close coordination with and with the consent of the Iraqi government, that all countries should do that”, she said.

Since then, Russian Federation has imposed sanctions on Turkey, including a ban on the import of some Turkish foods and a halt on sales of Turkish holiday travel packages – a major blow to the tourist industry.

He called the bombings “a new violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and of global law by Turkey”.

“We say that the military option is still probable and we might reach a stage in the next few days where we start carrying out operations against the Turks, be it against their soldiers or Turkish interests in Iraq”.

The council declared that it authorized Abadi to take the necessary measures regarding the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq.