A spokesperson from the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that there is no reason for Turkey to invade Iraqi territory, saying, “Turkey has repeatedly announced reaching an agreement with Iraq, but that is not the case.”
Iraqi Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Ahmed Sehaf addressed the Turkish attacks on Iraqi territory in a TV show broadcast by the KNN.
Sehaf spoke about the bombardments carried out by the Turkish and Iranian states along the border areas. “We openly condemned all acts of violence on Iraqi soil. Especially in the Kurdistan Region, numerous people were martyred and became victims. The Turkish attacks have forced thousands to flee, and the Iraqi Foreign Ministry has repeatedly expressed opposition to the attacks. We have officially conveyed our dissatisfaction to the parties in question.”
The Iraqi spokesperson also referred to the agreements which allegedly allowed Turkey to carry out attacks on Kurdistan territory. “There is no agreement between Iraq and Turkey that allows the Turkish state to enter Iraqi territory. There is no agreement that would allow Turkey to interfere with Iraq's territorial integrity and threaten civilians,” he said.
“Turkey often talks about an agreement with Iraq, but this is not the case. The only agreement in question is that reached between Turkey and Iraq during the Baathist regime. Back then, the agreement stated that Turkey could enter 5 km into Iraqi territory. But this was supposed to be done with the knowledge and consent of Iraq. In the meantime, this agreement expired in 2003. It was just an agreement reached in a meeting. This was not an agreement between Iraq and Turkey. Therefore, the current Iraqi government is not bound by a 2003 agreement reached during the Baathist regime. We will not allow any foreign forces to violate Iraq's sovereignty.”
