ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday that Iraq had no greater friend than Ankara, a day after the Iraqi prime minister warned that Turkish forces would “pay a heavy price” if they entered Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s warning on Tuesday came after Turkish tanks were deployed to Turkey’s southeastern border with Iraq, raising fears that Ankara was preparing to make good on its threat to enter into the ongoing offensive to oust ISIS from its Mosul stronghold.
“There is no stronger supporter (of Iraq) than Turkey, which wants Iraq to protect its territorial integrity and its independence,” Cavusoglu said. “Iraq’s security and stability are as important as ours,” he was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu Agency.
He said while Turkey backs Iraq’s independence and stability, he would not comment “on other countries’ provocations.”
On Tuesday, Abadi warned Turkey against sending its forces into Iraq.
“We do not want to fight Turkey. We do not want a confrontation with Turkey. God forbid, even if we engage in war with them, the Turks will pay a heavy price. They will be damaged. Yes, we too will be damaged, but whenever a country fights a neighboring country, there will be no winner, both will end up losing," said Abadi.
"We warn Turkey if they want to enter Iraq, they will end up becoming fragmented,” Abadi warned.
Speaking to a group of journalists in Baghdad, Abadi explained that the situation between Baghdad and Ankara is calm, as of now, but “we have made our preparations in advance. We are still afraid of any objectionable step that might be taken. We hope it does not reach that point. “
He went to say, “We are not afraid of Turkey, but the aftermath of the emergence of a new war. We do not want that. We want reduction of the problems, not escalation.”
Asked by journalists about Turkey’s insistence that the multitude of foreign forces in Iraq is justification for Turkish forces to also be present, Abadi pointed out a key difference between the role of the international forces currently in Iraq and the role Turkey wants to play.
“The Turks claim that there are many countries present in Iraq. True. These countries have come upon our call and they do not fight on the ground. But rather, they have sent their military personnel and advisors to train our forces. They have come to supply us with logistical needs and arms.”
He also explained that although a global counter-ISIS coalition has been formed to fight ISIS from the air, the Iraqi air force carries out must of the airstrikes itself.
“The Iraqi jets provide most of the aerial support for us and for some strategic hits. We will need coalition warplanes because the military warfare they own – we do not have them.”
Turkish military began deploying tanks and military equipment to the Silopi area near the Iraqi border as the battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS is ongoing some 100 kilometres from the border.
Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık said on Tuesday that the movement of military vehicles to Turkey’s border with Iraq is part of Turkey's counterterrorism operations, so his country can be ready for all possibilities.
