“The NATO Secretary General spoke with the Iraqi Prime Minister over the phone yesterday. During his conversation he repeated the importance of resolving this issue via diplomatic means between Iraq and Turkey. The Secretary General reaffirmed NATO’s support to Iraqi sovereignty. He took note of the Prime Minister's concerns and told him that he will inform all NATO Allies of his conversation,” the NATO official said.
On Thursday, Turkey deployed about 150 troops and 25 tanks to northern Iraq, reportedly to help train Iraqi soldiers to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS or Daesh in Arabic, a terrorist group outlawed in Russia). Following the deployment, Abadi demanded the withdrawal of the Turkish troops, which were moved into Iraqi territory without the Iraqi government’s authorization.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council discussed in a closed meeting the issue of Turkish troops entering the Iraqi territory.
Following the meeting, Russian envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin expressed hope that Turkey would not carry out any new, similar “reckless” moves, including on the Syrian territory.
