MESOP NEWS : Turkish Official: Ankara Will Continue to Train Peshmerga / If requested, we will also train the Iraqi army, says Yildiz

Basnews | Mewan Dolamari – 20.01.2015 – BAGHDAD – The Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister says that Turkey will stand with Iraq against Islamic State (IS) militants by training the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

On Monday Minister Taner Yildiz attended the 17th Turkey-Iraq Joint Economic Commission meeting in Baghdad. Afterwards, he held a press conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jafari. “In the meeting, we discussed politics, the economy and trade relations. After the meeting of the Turkish and Iraqi Prime Ministers, a meeting like Turkey – Iraq Joint Economic Commission is vital to develop better relations and understanding between the countries,” said Yildiz.

He continued, “In the fight against IS, Turkey will support Iraq. We are ready to provide military assistance to the Iraqi security forces.“Turkey has provided a large amount of humanitarian aid to Iraq. We have sent almost 700 trucks of aid so far, and we will continue providing aid to the 40,000 Iraqis in three refugee camps.”

After the emergence of IS, Turkey has increased security on its borders with Iraq and Syria. While Turkey has allowed number of citizens of both countries to enter Turkey, it has expelled almost 1,100 refugees from different countries. Yildiz demanded an international response to terrorism, saying, “Like other countries, we will train the Peshmerga and providing them with military equipment. If the federal government of Iraq wants us to the Iraqi army, we are ready to do it.”

He concluded with oil. “450,000 barrels are exported daily from Iraq to Cyhan Port. The Turkish government sends the oil to the world market, and provides the State Organization for Marketing of Oil with the data and statistics.”