Canberk Yüksel
06 October 2016•Update: 07 October 2016
NEW YORK
The UN hopes Ankara and Baghdad can “amicably” resolve a spat about Turkish troops in Iraq, the organization said Thursday.
“The Secretary-General hopes that the government of Turkey will ensure that all activities in Iraq are conducted with the full consent of the government of Iraq,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.
“We do understand that the Turkish and Iraqi governments have had talks to resolve the matter amicably and the Secretary-General does call on the parties to continue these efforts and stands ready to support the parties if requested,” he added.
Iraq complained to the Security Council about the presence of the Turkish military in Iraq.
The Pentagon on Thursday denied claims it was against continued Turkish deployment there, saying the matter was between Turkey and Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish regional government said Turkish troops were sent to Iraq with “full knowledge” of officials in Baghdad.
Turkish Special Forces have been training Kurdish peshmerga forces at the Bashiqa base since last year at the request of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government.
One day after Turkey’s parliament voted earlier this week to extend the army’s mandate at Bashiqa, Iraqi lawmakers rejected the extension and demanded a review of that country’s relations with Turkey.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Wednesday that Ankara is ready to cooperate with Iraq’s central government on Bashiqa if it focuses on maintaining the country’s territorial integrity and defeating terror groups, including Daesh.
Kurtulmus said the presence of Turkish troops is known by the government in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government in Iraq’s north.
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman condemned the Iraqi parliament’s decision and summoned Iraqi envoy to Ankara to the ministry.
