Baghdad summons Turkish envoy again

BAGHDAD - Reuters

Iraq has summoned Ankara’s ambassador in Baghdad to protest the behavior of two Turkish diplomats, the latest episode in a drawn-out public row between the neighbors.

An official from Iraq’s foreign ministry met Turkey’s ambassador, Yunus Demirer, on May 15 to complain about the Turkish diplomats in the cities of Basra and Mosul, a statement on the foreign ministry website said yesterday. “Some activities conducted by the two Turkish General Consuls in Basra and Mosul ... are far from their consular duties and obligations stated in the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations of 1963,” the statement said. Demirer “affirmed that Turkey [did] not have any goals or agendas harming the interests and strategic relations of the two countries,” during the meeting, according to the statement.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki have traded tit-for-tat criticisms and accusations several times this year. Iraq summoned Turkey’s ambassador at the time and Turkey responded by summoning Iraq’s envoy in Ankara.