Russia Backs Baghdad's Demands for Turkish Troops Removal From Iraq's North

Russia Backs Baghdad's Demands for Turkish Troops Removal From Iraq's North

 

Bogdanov said that Rogozin was personally met at the airport in Baghdad by Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari where they discussed the issue, Sputnik reported.

“In this context, the issue of the illegal presence of Turkish troops on Iraqi soil was discussed and support was expressed of the official position of the Iraqi government that is based on the need to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq,” Bogdanov told journalists in Baghdad. 

In early December, the Turkish government sent a battalion of 25 tanks and about 150 troops into northern Iraq without the permission of the Iraqi government.

Ankara said its forces were there with the assent of the Iraqi government, and were sent in response to security concerns in northern Iraq, where its forces help to train Iraqi militia battling Daesh in northern Iraq.