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Turkey seeks to capitalize on Iraq’s sovereignty: Analyst

Friday, 14 October 2016 8:48 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 14 October 2016 8:49 PM ]

This file photo shows Turkish soldiers patrolling on a road near the Turkey-Iraq border.

An analyst says Turkey seeks to capitalize on Iraq’s sovereignty by refusing to withdraw its troops from the northern part of the Arab country.

“I think Turkey is trying to infringe upon Iraq’s sovereignty. Iraq has been through some very tough times since the first [Persian] Gulf war instituted by George H. W. Bush and it has not gotten much better. I think Turkey is looking to capitalize on Iraqi sovereignty and territory,” Veterans Today Editor Mike Harris told Press TV on Friday.

He also stated that Turkey has been very “opportunistic”, adding that the Kurdish population is going to be the next victim of Ankara's policies.

“I do not trust them [the Turks]. They are not conducting themselves as a legitimate democracy. [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan has stepped in. He is more like an emperor these days and I do not know what this guy’s plans are. I am very skeptical of anything that the Turkish government would do at this point in time,” Harris added.

This comes as a top Turkish official has said the country’s military forces will continue their presence in northern Iraq near the city of Mosul regardless of Baghdad's repeated protests and escalating tensions between the two neighbors.

Harris further said that the Iraqi people need to handle the Mosul liberation operation on their own with the support they invite into the country not the support that is imposed upon them.

Turkey seeks to maintain an estimated 2,000 troops in northern Iraq, claiming the move is aimed at battling terror groups.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over the presence of the Turkish troops in Iraq as well as a decision by the Turkish parliament to extend the deployment by another year.

The Iraqi army and pro-government forces have been preparing for months to liberate Mosul, which has been under the control of Daesh since the summer of 2014.

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