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Iraq
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim (right) and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu hold a joint press conference in Baghdad on January 9, 2020. Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s foreign minister said Thursday that his country has begun efforts to reduce recent tensions between the US and Iran in the neighboring Iraq, adding that Turkey “do[es] not want Iraq to be a battlefield.”
“We as Turkey do not want Iraq to be a battlefield for clashes between foreign forces. We oppose this. Iraq has its own issues such as fighting against terrorist organizations like Daesh and PKK,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim in Baghdad, referring to Islamic State (ISIS) and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
ISIS controlled swaths of Iraqi territory in 2014. Though declared defeated by the Iraqi government in December 2017, the group continues to conduct attacks in areas of the country disputed by Erbil and Baghdad. The PKK is an armed Kurdish group struggling for the ethnic minority’s cultural and political rights in Turkey. Iraq does not fight the PKK, whose affiliated groups control some parts of Shingal district in northwest Iraq.
Iraq has seen itself become the battlefield for skyrocketing hostilities between Tehran and Washington in recent weeks after Iran-backed militia attacks on the US’ forces and Baghdad embassy, the assassination of Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, and most recently, Iran’s missile attacks on bases hosting US troops in Anbar and Erbil in the early hours of Wednesday. World leaders have urged restraint and de-escalation in response.
“The message we carry is that Iraq is not alone and we will work with Iraq to pass these difficult days,” Turkish foreign minister told reporters.
All countries have to respect Iraq’s sovereignty, he said, adding that Turkey has begun efforts to reduce tensions.
Cavusoglu’s statement clashes with Turkey’s own military presence in Iraq. Turkish troops are based near the northwestern Iraqi town of Bashiqa, Nineveh province, despite Baghdad’s calls for withdrawal. Its air forces have bombarded suspected PKK positions in Shingal and the Kurdistan Region, garnering condemnation from successive Iraqi governments for violating its sovereignty.
Also discussed by the two parties was water – with Ankara’s mega dam projects and withholding of water for domestic agriculture a long running point of tension with downstream Iraq - and Turkey’s role in reconstructing areas destroyed during war with the Islamic State.
The Turkish foreign minister met earlier on Thursday with Iraqi President Barham Salih and caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
Salih stressed in his meeting with Cavusoglu that Iraq and Turkey need “coordination and cooperation in order to prevent conflicts and war in Iraq and the region, and rejected turning Iraq into a place for abusing other countries in the region through proxy war,” according to a post-meeting readout.
In Abdul-Mahdi’s meeting with Cavusoglu, the Iraqi premier “reaffirmed that the Iraqi government is committed to building partnerships with its regional and international allies based on respect for Iraq’s sovereignty, mutual understanding and common interests."
Cavusoglu told reporters that he would return to Turkey once he had met with Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also spoke on the phone with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, telling them Turkey "is with Iraq," according to Turkish state media outlet Anadolu Agency.
Updated 11:59 pm
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