• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

In Sign Of Thaw, Turkey Says Respects Iraq’s Sovereignty

Abdullah Ayasun by Abdullah Ayasun
01/09/17
in Featured, World
In Sign Of Thaw, Turkey Says Respects Iraq’s Sovereignty

Photo: Reuters

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Turkey and Iraq cooled down a long-running spat between the two countries during a visit by the Turkish prime minister to Iraq, seeking for a detente in relations strained by Turkish military presence in northern Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday that an accord has been reached to ensure withdrawal of Turkish forces from Bashiqa camp near Mosul. But a joint communique, after the meeting between the prime minister does not refer to a deal over the issue that kept bilateral relations on edge.

The communique highlights Turkey’s expression of strong respect for Iraq’s sovereignty and acceptance of Bashiqa as an Iraqi camp. Yildirim arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for talks with Iraqi officials to give a boost to strained ties.

Iraqi state television said Turkey pledged to respect Iraqi sovereignty, and both countries promised non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.

Turkey’s deployment of at least 500 troops to train local fighters at Bashiqa camp touched off a diplomatic row that almost jeopardized a multi-sided military operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State. Defiant tone of Turkish authorities toward calls from Baghdad to pull out the forces generated public resentment and aroused nationalist fervor among Iraqis who held protests in front of the Turkish Embassy last year.

Iraqi Parliament regarded the presence of Turkish military trainers and soldiers as an invading force on its territory, and blatant violation of its sovereignty. The U.S. efforts to mediate the dispute between Turkey and Iraq did not yield much result as Pentagon Chief Ashton Carter’s visit to both capitals ended in utter failure in late October.

Turkey’s insistence to take part in the Mosul operation added an additional source of friction, made a rapprochement extremely difficult at that time. But both Baghdad and U.S.-led coalition forces against ISIS expressed reluctance, even fierce objection in the former case, to see a Turkish role in the operation that led by Kurdish peshmerga forces and Iraqi troops. Turkey later scrapped its plans for participating in the Mosul campaign, and conceded to remain on the sidelines.

“We see that significant progress is being made in cleansing Daesh from the region. In line with this, we will solve this (Bashiqa) subject somehow in a friendly way,” Reuters quoted the Turkish prime minister as saying. Yildirim also attended inauguration ceremony of newly rebuilt Turkish Embassy in Baghdad on the same day. He then later flew to Arbil, the capital of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.

Turkey’s developed relations with the KRG also constitutes another point of contention with Baghdad as Ankara ignores Iraqi protest for its unilaterally-cut deals with Arbil, bypassing the central government in Baghdad. Part of the problem springs from squabble over Kurdish insistence to sell its oil to world markets via Turkey without getting approval from Baghdad.

The quarrel, which neared to a boiling point in recent years, now seems to subside as KRG appears to be unable to find customers except Israel. Countries are reluctant to bypass Iraqi government on the oil trade.

Nechirvan Barzani welcomed Yildirim upon his arrival in Arbil. Both leaders discussed cooperation against terrorism and how to boost bilateral economic relations which blossomed during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

ShareTweet
Abdullah Ayasun

Abdullah Ayasun

Staff Writer

Related Posts

A giant crawler machine used to dredge the seabed for diamonds
Environment

Norway to Allow Deep-Sea Mining

by Staff Writer
December 5, 2023
Dutch politician Geert Wilders
Opinion

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

by Edward Koning
November 28, 2023
Ukraine war
National

NATO Chief Says ‘No Alternative’ to Helping Ukraine Stop Putin

by Staff Writer
November 27, 2023
Migrants stranded at the Finland border
Refugees

Russia Warns of a ‘Crisis’ at Arctic Border With Finland

by Staff Writer
November 22, 2023
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.
Environment

Earth to Warm Up to 2.9C Even With Current Climate Pledges: UN

by Staff Writer
November 20, 2023
A woman in Singapore checks her mobile
World

Singapore and Indonesia Launch Cross-Border QR-Code Payments

by Staff Writer
November 17, 2023
Next Post
One-hour Noon Nap Significantly Sharpens Brain, Study Finds

One-hour Noon Nap Significantly Sharpens Brain, Study Finds

It’s Working Journalists Day. But No Turkish Media Left To Celebrate

It's Working Journalists Day. But No Turkish Media Left To Celebrate

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

A giant crawler machine used to dredge the seabed for diamonds

Norway to Allow Deep-Sea Mining

December 5, 2023
Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Ukraine war

NATO Chief Says ‘No Alternative’ to Helping Ukraine Stop Putin

November 27, 2023
Migrants stranded at the Finland border

Russia Warns of a ‘Crisis’ at Arctic Border With Finland

November 22, 2023
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.

Earth to Warm Up to 2.9C Even With Current Climate Pledges: UN

November 20, 2023
A woman in Singapore checks her mobile

Singapore and Indonesia Launch Cross-Border QR-Code Payments

November 17, 2023

Opinion

Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Afghan refugees

The Blessed and Cursed Randomness of Our Lives

October 25, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post