Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs refute Turkish claims of cooperation with military operation

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the validity of the statements made by Turkey regarding its coordination with the Iraqi government to launch attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), instead describing the Turkish military operation as an obvious violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Turkish forces not only violated Iraq’s sovereignty and launched military operations, but deliberately made false statements to justify its attacks, alleging that it had coordinated the attacks with the Iraqi government.

Spokesperson for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry Ahmed Al-Sahaf said that the Ministry regarded military operations in Iraqi territory as a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and a threat to its territorial integrity due to the horror and harm it causes to Iraqi citizens.

The Turkish Ambassador to Iraq was summoned, a well-worded protest mandate was issued, and military operations were described in the mandate as hostile and provocative.

According to Sahaf, the Turkish side justifies its hostilities under the pretext of defending its national security and relies on article 51 of the U.N. Charter. However, that section does allow for the infringement of the sovereignty of other states.

Sahaf affirmed that the repeated statements by the Turkish side that there is coordination and agreement with the Iraqi government are not true and are merely allegations.

He stated that the Ministry had not received a response to the protest note from the Turkish side, explaining that Iraq has the right to use all sources of force at the national, regional, and international levels in accordance with the U.N. Charter and the principles of international law.