Iraq’s Maliki ‘delusional,’ says Turkey

ANKARA / BAGHDAD - Hürriyet Daily News

Iraq’s Maliki ‘delusional,’ says Turkey. REUTERS photo

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is living in a fantasy world, Ankara has implied amid high tension between Iraq and Turkey that has been escalated by tit-for-tat statements from both sides.

The Iraqi government should “not make imaginary assumptions about the expectations of the Turkish public but listen to advice instead,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued Nov. 23.

The statement was released in response to a statement issued by the Iraqi Prime Ministry that accused Turkey of “meddling in regional problems.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s statement declared that remarks uttered Nov. 21 by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s were “sincere concerns.”

“The statement [by the Iraqi Prime Ministry] shows that the [Iraqi prime minister] is confusing the situation in Iraq with what is going on in Turkey and has lost touch with reality,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“We strongly reject the misuse of our prime minister’s concerns as a basis for throwing around baseless claims regarding our country. The Iraqi prime minister should listen to concerns voiced by Iraqi political parties and abandon policies that increase tension in his country. He should take an approach embracing all of Iraqi society and pay attention to advice [given] on such matters instead of putting out baseless claims and conjuring up imaginary assumptions about the expectations of the Turkish people,” the statement said.

The statement released by the Iraqi Prime Ministry had called on Erdoğan to focus on what is happening in Turkey. “The domestic conditions in Turkey are worrying,” the statement said. “The Turkish prime minister should focus on problems in Turkey that may cause further ethnic and sectarian problems and look for problems.”

Meanwhile, Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have continued to accuse each other of rushing troops to disputed border regions amid heightened tensions between the rival governments.

On Nov. 21, Kurds sent troops into the disputed town of Khanaqeen, claiming that it was a routine redeployment. But Baghdad’s military spokesman, Col. Dhia al-Wakeel, said Kurdish regional forces known as the peshmarga, backed by rocket launchers and artillery, reinforced troops already in Khaniqeen and the nearby oil center of Kirkuk on Nov. 22, “despite efforts to produce calm.”

Jabar Yawer, a spokesman for the peshmarga, said their troops had not advanced. “It is exactly the opposite,” he said, accusing Iraqi commanders of sending artillery-backed forces to seven different disputed areas bordering the Kurdish region over the past few days. He said tensions could only be diffused with an international force patrolling the disputed area, as U.S. forces once did.

Tensions in the region escalated last week when a gun battle between Iraqi police and Kurdish guards in the disputed northern city of Toz Khormatu left a civilian dead.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s statement declared that remarks uttered Nov. 21 by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s were “sincere concerns.”

“The statement [by the Iraqi Prime Ministry] shows that the [Iraqi prime minister] is confusing the situation in Iraq with what is going on in Turkey and has lost touch with reality,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“We strongly reject the misuse of our prime minister’s concerns as a basis for throwing around baseless claims regarding our country. The Iraqi prime minister should listen to concerns voiced by Iraqi political parties and abandon policies that increase tension in his country. He should take an approach embracing all of Iraqi society and pay attention to advice [given] on such matters instead of putting out baseless claims and conjuring up imaginary assumptions about the expectations of the Turkish people,” the statement said.

The statement released by the Iraqi Prime Ministry had called on Erdoğan to focus on what is happening in Turkey. “The domestic conditions in Turkey are worrying,” the statement said. “The Turkish prime minister should focus on problems in Turkey that may cause further ethnic and sectarian problems and look for problems.”

North still tense

Meanwhile, Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have continued to accuse each other of rushing troops to disputed border regions amid heightened tensions between the rival governments.

On Nov. 21, Kurds sent troops into the disputed town of Khanaqeen, claiming that it was a routine redeployment. But Baghdad’s military spokesman, Col. Dhia al-Wakeel, said Kurdish regional forces known as the peshmarga, backed by rocket launchers and artillery, reinforced troops already in Khaniqeen and the nearby oil center of Kirkuk on Nov. 22, “despite efforts to produce calm.”