Iraq won’t allow the use of its territory to attack neighbours- Iraqi PM

Iraq will not accept the use of its land in attacking Turkey and its neighbouring countries, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference after a cabinet meeting in Baghdad, Abadi stressed that Iraq does not “allow the use of Iraqi land to attack our neighbours and we do not help any party to attack Turkey”.

He went on saying that Iraq “cannot accept the PKK’s attacks against Turkey from our territory. Also, our constitution does not allow such actions”.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as PKK group, has been allegedly launching several attacks on Turkish territories from Iraq, during which the Turkish forces were able to successfully suppress them.

Referring to the offensive against the Daesh terrorist group in Mosul, the Iraqi premier said that the Iraqi army is making advances. “We need intelligence sharing from other countries to eradicate Daesh terror,” he concluded.

Abadi noted to the upcoming visit of the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, during which he will meet with Iraqi officials, in a bid to settle ties between the two countries that has have been strained over Turkey’s deployment of troops in the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq. The visit will take place from 5 to 7 January.

Yıldırım also plans to visit Arbil in order to hold talks with Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials, who recently vowed to take action against outlawed PKK elements in the Sinjar region.

Last Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held talks by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi. During their conversation, Erdogan reportedly told Al-Abadi that Yıldırım planned to visit Iraq sometime in January. He did not, however, provide an exact date for the prime minister’s upcoming visit, according to the Istanbul-based Daily Sabah.

In recent months, the mission’s presence in Mosul in northern Iraq has led to tension between Baghdad and Ankara amid calls by some Iraqi lawmakers for Turkish troops to withdraw. The relations have recently seen a thaw as the Iraqi premier stated that bilateral relations are “back on track” with Turkey.