Turkish presence in Mosul part of ‘planned training’

ANKARA

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

Speaking at Anadolu Agency's Editor's’ Desk in Ankara, Kurtulmus said the training had been going on for a long time in that part of Iraq, adding that Turkey had been working with the country's central government from the beginning.

The posting of military trainers to Bashiqa, near Mosul, has caused a diplomatic spat between Ankara and Baghdad.

Baghdad insists the forces be withdrawn while the Turkish government has said the troops are merely part of a routine rotation of a training program for Kurdish peshmerga fighters.

Turkey's presence in northern Iraq is not a new situation; Turkish troops have been providing peshmerga forces – the army of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government – with training since Sep 2014.

Kurtulmus said the training came after a request from Mosul’s governor following the Daesh group’s storming of the Iraqi province. He added:

"About 2,400 peshmerga, Turkmen and Arabs have been trained within preparations to rescue Mosul, that's why – it is not a fresh situation."

"It is an exaggerated issue and I hope the tension will be de-escalated as soon as possible," he added.

Unexpected reaction

Kurtulmus said the “exaggeration” of the issue in Turkish public opinion and the media had triggered sensitivities in the Iraqi government.

The deputy prime minister said these prompted the Iraqi government to give an unexpected reaction "with a sentiment caused by incidents in Syria and Iraq".

"Turkey's presence in Mosul was never against the Iraqi people or government," said Kurtulmus, who added that the Turkish forces were there to help fight the Daesh group.

Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu wrote a letter to his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi to inform him of the activities and the duties of Turkish troops deployed in Mosul.

According to Turkish Prime Ministry sources, Davutoglu told Abadi that Ankara would never take any steps which would damage Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"There will be no deployment of forces to Bashiqa [Mosul town] until the sensitivities of Iraq are addressed," he was quoted by the sources as saying.

Russian oil claims 'nonsense'

Kurtulmus also touched upon Russia's accusations that Turkey was buying oil from the terrorist Daesh group by saying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family were allegedly involved in the trade.

The deputy prime minister dismissed the claims as "nonsense".

Kurtulmus said Russia’s oil trade allegations "amount to overt slander against the Turkish government and president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan]”.

The allegations came from Russian President Vladimir Putin after Turkey downed a Russian jet for violating its airspace despite repeated warnings on the Turkey-Syria border on Nov. 24.

Turkey’s president has strongly rejected the Russian allegations.

Russia 'will not easily forgo Turkey's 1st nuke plant'

Russia will not easily give up on the construction of Turkey's first nuclear project, Akkuyu nuclear power plant, Kurtulmus said .

Kurtulmus explained that it is too early to speak with certainty on the future of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project, but declared that Russia is aware that they are not the only player at Turkey's trading door.

"Turkey is not dependent on Russia for the construction of the power plant," he said and added that Turkey is not reliant on Russia alone for the technology and know-how to realize the nuclear power plant construction.

"We know that there are many international companies who are interested in Turkey's nuclear power plant construction," he added.

"I personally don't think Russia will easily give up on the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project," he emphasized.

Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom was set to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant at a cost of $20 billion in the southern province of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast.

Following the downing of the jet on Nov. 24, Russia announced sanctions against Turkey, with Russian President Vladimir Putin leveling accusations against the Turkish president and threatening that Ankara would regret shooting down the jet.