ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim on Wednesday called for neighboring countries to respect Iraq’s sovereignty a day after the Turkish interior minister claimed responsibility for creating peace in the Middle East. The head of Iraq's National Wisdom Movement political bloc tweeted that, “achieving peace in the region and the world comes through the interaction of states among themselves in accordance with international covenants and cooperation based on the foundations of mutual relations and common interest.” “It is not allowed to compromise the sovereignty of Iraq and for its land to be infringed,” he added, not directly referencing Turkey. Hakim’s tweet comes a day after Suleyman Soylu’s visit to Sirnak in southeastern Turkey in celebration of Eid al-Adha. During his visit, Soylu said the peace of Muslims geographies, including Iraq and Syria is Turkey’s responsibility. “God will show us the day where we will walk from here to Iraq, to Syria and all together say our greeting to our brothers in Libya,” he added. Soylu’s comment sparked rage on social media platforms, angering Kurdish and Iraqi people. He also visited the city of Afrin in northeast Syria and met with Turkish police forces stationed in the city. Parliament Member of the law coalition Kadhem Finjan al-Hamami told Rudaw that the Turkish provocations were not the first of its kind, referring to the Turkish Defense Minister’s visit, the deforestation of Kurdish areas and the continuous attacks on Iraqi territory. “There were no reactions from the Iraqi government or the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) towards all these attacks on Iraqi lands,” he said, adding that the Turkish government believes that “Iraq and the neighboring countries are a subject of the Ottoman Empire.”
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