December 30, 2015•Update: December 31, 2015
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi over the phone on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the Turkish Prime Ministry, Davutoglu congratulated Abadi for retaking the city of Ramadi from Daesh.
“PM Davutoglu emphasized the two countries’ national security was interrelated and revealed our strong will to remove the threats spread by terrorist organizations like Daesh and PKK,” Abadi reportedly said
While emphasizing the importance of counter-terrorism, Abadi stated his expectations for the respect for Iraq’s territorial integrity.
The statement did not mention anything the presence of Turkish troops in Mosul, which has caused tension between two countries.
Earlier, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari addressed the issue of Turkish troops' presence in Mosul.
“If violation of sovereignty continues, all options are on the table. We will continue peaceful and dialog methods until the end. If we have to fight for our sovereignty, we may resort to that. We attach importance in continuing good relations with our neighbor. So we are dedicated to continue our relations with Turkey as long as we protect our sovereignity.” he said.
Baghdad had complained about the Dec. 4 deployment of troops to the site near Mosul, calling it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and insisting the Turkish forces be withdrawn.
Turkey said that the 150 soldiers and up to 25 tanks were stationed in Bashiqa to protect Turkish servicemen training Iraqi volunteers to fight Daesh. The training mission had been in Iraq since March and was not assigned to combat duties.
Following a series of bilateral talks to alleviate Iraq’s concerns, Turkey rearranged the number of troops in Bashiqa and the additional security elements left the camp on Dec. 14.
Iraqi armed forces reclaimed Ramadi from Daesh on Monday.
Iraq has plunged into a security vacuum since June 2014 when Daesh stormed Mosul and declared what it called a caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
