Iraq slams Turkey over ‘interference’ in burgeoning sectarian conflict
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned his Iraqi counterpart, Nouri al-Maliki, on Tuesday that Ankara would not remain silent if he pursued a sectarian conflict in his country.
A war of words between the two neighbours has added to heightened regional tension. Turkey fears Iraq is heading towards a full-scale sectarian war while Baghdad has accused Ankara of meddling.
“Esteemed Maliki should know this — if you start a period of conflict in Iraq within a sectarian struggle, it will be impossible for us to remain silent,” Erdogan told his AK Party parliamentary group in the Turkish capital.
Maliki’s office responded with a statement again criticizing Turkey’s “interference” in Iraq’s affairs.
“This is not acceptable in the dealings between officials of different states and especially from heads of state,” Maliki’s office said. “Mr. Erdogan has to be more careful in handling the usual protocols in international relations.”
Fears of renewed sectarian conflict in Iraq have increased since U.S. troops withdrew in December and Maliki’s Shi’ite-led government sought the arrest of a Sunni vice president on accusations he ran death squads.
Maliki’s government denies it has a sectarian agenda, but the arrest warrant threatens to wreck a fragile ruling coalition that led to Sunni and Kurdish groups joining Maliki’s cabinet.