Pentagon chief to stress Iraq sovereignty
in Turkey talks
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[October 21, 2016]
By Phil Stewart
ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary
Ash Carter said he would stress the need to respect Iraq's sovereignty
during a visit on Friday to Turkey, which has been locked in a dispute
with Baghdad over who should participate in the campaign to retake Mosul
from Islamic State.
Carter, acknowledging it was a delicate issue, declined to explicitly
say whether he thought Turkey should be allowed toparticipate in the
operations in Iraq. Washington in the past has deferred that matter to
Baghdad.
"Of course we'll talk about that. And yes, of course there are
sensitivities there. We conduct ourselves, and the coalition does,
respecting Iraqi sovereignty. That's an important principle of ours,"
Carter said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has been frustrated that NATO member
Turkey has not been more involved in the U.S.-backed assault on Mosul
and angered by Washington's support for Kurdish militia fighters
battling Islamic State in Syria.
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Asked about Turkish air strikes that pounded a group of Kurdish fighters
allied to a U.S.-backed militia in northernSyria, Carter said he was not
certain about what precisely transpired.
"I can’t clarify that now," he said.
A U.S. defense official said on Thursday the specific groups struck by
Turkish jets were not themselves U.S.-backed, but were "close to and
friendly with" the fighters Washington is working with.
Ankara has been in a row with Iraq over the presence of Turkish troops
at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul, as well as over who should take part in
the offensive in the largely Sunni Muslim city of Mosul, once part of
the Ottoman empire and still seen by Turkey as firmly within its sphere
of influence.
Erdogan has warned of sectarian bloodshed if the Iraqi army relies on
Shi'ite militia fighters.
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![](../images/102116pics/news_r33.jpg)
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with U.S. Defense
Secretary Ash Carter at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey,
October 21, 2016. Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Palace/Handout via
REUTERS
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A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
acknowledged Turkey had legitimate security concerns in Iraq but
added that Washington had been clear that "no military should be
operating in areas (of Iraq) where they aren't invited expressly."
"We have been working behind the scenes to get the Iraqis and the
Turks to come to an understanding about how we're going to move
forward on Mosul," the official said.
Carter steered clear of directly commenting on the matter ahead of
his talks in Turkey. He acknowledged the United States was
partnering with both Iraq and Turkey in the fight against Islamic
State.
"These are two close friends of ours. In the case of Turkey, it's a
NATO ally. And we want to keep everybody focused on the objective
here, which is to defeat ISIL, because that is a threat to all three
of us," Carter said.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
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