- Title: Iraq comments on Bashiqa 'dangerous and provocative' - Turkish PM
- Date: 7th October 2016
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 7, 2016) (REUTERS) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER BINALI YILDIRIM WALKING TOWARDS MICROPHONES TURKISH OFFICIALS STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "There are fighters from more than 60 countries, including countries which do not have a border with Iraq. They have experts and soldiers there. They are continuing this fight for the sake of humanity. So I see this Baghdad statement and similar ones as dangerous and provocative." CAMERA OPERATORS FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "Our soldiers didn't go there today. They have been there for a long time. Our troops are carrying out very useful work in Iraq. We have no hostile attitude towards them." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES/OFFICIALS STANDING YILDIRIM LEAVING
- Embargoed: 22nd October 2016 13:11
- Keywords: Turkey Iraq Bashiqa Binali Yildirim
- Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
- City: ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001530B5FR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Baghdad's remarks on the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq, where Turkey trains and equips rebels to fight Islamic State, are "dangerous and provocative", Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Friday (October 7).
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has warned Turkey that it risks triggering a regional war by keeping troops in Iraq. Most of Turkey's troops are at the base in Bashiqa, north of Mosul, where they are helping to train Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga and Sunni fighters.
"Our soldiers didn't go there today. They have been there for a long time. Our troops are carrying out very useful work in Iraq. We have no hostile attitude towards them," said Yildirim.
Turkey says its military is in Iraq at the invitation of Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish regional government, with which Ankara maintains solid ties. Baghdad says no such invitation was ever issued.
Iraq has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Turkey's military presence on its soil, after Turkey's parliament voted to extend the deployment of an estimated 2,000 troops across northern Iraq by a year to combat "terrorist organisations". - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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