Turkish PM in Baghdad: assault on Iraq is assault on Turkey
BAGHDAD, Iraq – On the first visit in four years by a Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu said in Baghdad Thursday that an attack on Iraq is an attack on Turkey.
“Any kind of assault on Iraqi security is an assault on Turkey as well,” he said at a joint news conference following a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Haidar Abadi.
The visit comes as Iraq has lost a third of its territory to Islamic State (ISIS) and has been thrust into the frontlines of an international war on the religious zealots.
Turkey, on the other hand, has been internationally criticized for taking no action against the zealots, who are fighting just across its borders.
Davutoglu’s visit indicates a thaw between the two neighbors, which have been sparring diplomatically for years over Ankara’s support for oil exports by autonomous Kurds in northern Iraq and the war in Syria
“Any kind of assault on Iraqi security is an assault on Turkey as well,” he said at a joint news conference following a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Haidar Abadi.
The visit comes as Iraq has lost a third of its territory to Islamic State (ISIS) and has been thrust into the frontlines of an international war on the religious zealots.
Turkey, on the other hand, has been internationally criticized for taking no action against the zealots, who are fighting just across its borders.
Davutoglu’s visit indicates a thaw between the two neighbors, which have been sparring diplomatically for years over Ankara’s support for oil exports by autonomous Kurds in northern Iraq and the war in Syria