Iraqi PM Reiterates Opposition to Unsanctioned Troop Presence
20:01 12.02.2016(updated 20:17 12.02.2016)
Iraqi Prime Minister said that foreign military presence in Iraq is prohibited without Baghdad's approval.
MUNICH (Sputnik) – Foreign military presence in Iraq is prohibited without Baghdad's approval, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said Friday.
'Iraqi sovereignty is very important for us and I have to repeat it again and again: no foreign troops should be allowed in the country without the consent of the Iraqi government,' Abadi said at the 52nd Munich Security Conference.
Anti-Islamic State jihadist group coalition members led by the United States maintain forces to train and equip Iraqi security personnel, he stressed.
'But we don't have armed soldiers, combat troops on the ground, we don't have anybody other than Iraqis,' Abadi stressed.
The prime minister decried as 'very dangerous' Turkey deploying troops and tanks in northern Iraq's Nineveh province in December 2015.
'We should have a say in this. To have troops that roll into Iraq 100 kilometers deep into the country, in a city where historically the Turks claim that it belongs to them – which is Mosul – I think it's very dangerous,' he said.
Abadi urged Ankara to withdraw from Iraq and 'help us in other ways.'
Turkey argued its troops had entered Iraq to ensure the security of the Turkish soldiers previously deployed at the base to train local militias fighting against terrorist groups. Baghdad termed Ankara's actions hostile, and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.
© Sputnik
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