MESOP SPOT : ABADI CALLS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO GET PKK OUT OF IRAQ – Abadi: Baghdad Does Not Allow PKK Attacks against Turkey

Premier Abadi says they seek to improve relations with Ankara –  Abadi: Baghdad Does Not Allow PKK Attacks against Turkey

4 Jan 2017 – ERBIL — Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi stated that Baghdad does not accept that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) uses Iraq’s land to launch attacks against neighbors, Iraqi media reported.In a press statement on Tuesday after the meeting of Council of Ministers, Abadi said the Iraqi constitution does not allow the PKK attacks from the Iraqi territory against Turkey. “We don’t help any party attack Turkey,” Abadi was quoted as saying.

Baghdad-Ankara relations recently suffered tensions as Turkey accused Baghdad of supporting the PKK militants who reportedly launch attacks against Turkey from Iraq. The deployment of a Turkish force in Bashiqa Camp in the Iraqi Nineveh province deteriorated the tensions further, with the Iraqi government threatening Ankara to withdraw its forces or face war. The crisis, however, has recently been relaxed as Abadi stated that Iraq’s relations are “back on track” with Turkey

In his press conference, Abadi also hoped that his upcoming meeting with his Turkish counterpart Binali Yıldırım on Wednesday will help improve the relations between the two countries. “We want to develop our diplomatic and economic relations with Turkey. We want to cooperate in security and other areas with Turkey, and all other countries,” Abadi said. Commenting on Mosul offensive, the Iraqi PM sought the assistance of the international community, saying that “we need intelligence sharing from other countries to eradicate Daesh [Arabic acronym for Islamic State] terror.” www.mesop.de