The Turkish Foreign Ministry Summons Iraqi Ambassador After the Iraqi Foreign Ministry Criticized Ankara’s Incursion into Iraq

BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:20 P.M.) – The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Iraqi ambassador, Issam Mohammad, after the Iraqi Foreign Ministry criticized Ankara’s incursion into Iraq.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry called Turkey’s invasion of northern Iraq “unilateral acts of war” after they killed four civilians while bombing the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); this was not received well by Ankara.

The spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Hami Aksoy, told the Iraqi ambassador that his country would “firmly continue” their operations in Iraq, state-owned Anadolu News Agency reported.

He stressed that Iraq’s statement “does not correspond with the positive momentum” that began the bilateral relations between the two countries through previous high-level talks.

He also stressed that the ministry informed the charge d’affaires that “Turkey respects the sovereignty of Iraq, so Baghdad should not allow the presence of terrorists on its territory.”