Turkey ‘always seeks solution’ with Iraq: Turkish FM

ANKARA

AA photo

Turkey’s presence in Bashiqa in northern Iraq will not pose a problem if Iraq eliminates its domestic political concerns, Turkey’s foreign minister has said.

An Iraqi parliamentary motion against the presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp “will not pose a serious problem if Iraq purifies itself of its domestic political concerns,” Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said late Oct. 6 during a joint news conference with his Italian counterpart, Paolo Gentiloni.  

“We always seek a solution, but Iraq is continuing its negative attitudes about the Bashiqa Camp because of its internal political turmoil and polarization,” he said.

The presence of Turkish troops in Iraq has resulted in diplomatic tension between Iraq and Turkey, with the Iraqi parliament sending a diplomatic note to Turkey’s ambassador on Oct. 4, after which Turkey summoned Iraq’s ambassador in Ankara the following day.

Gentiloni touched upon the crisis in Syria, indicating that Turkey and Italy should give a joint message. “We should give a message to Russia and the regime of [Bashar al-Assad] that they cannot go on like this. It is impossible to continue with the incidents that have occurred in eastern Aleppo in the last 15 days. You cannot get anywhere by destroying a city where 300,000 people live,” he said. 

The minister said the parties should seek recommendations from the United Nations to end the “tragedy.”