BAGHDAD (Press TV) – The Iraqi prime minister says there could be no improvement in Baghdad-Ankara relations as long as Turkish military forces are present in the Arab country.
Haider al-Abadi said that the ties with Turkey could "not move forward one step" until the withdrawal of Turkish troops, state television reported.
The presence of some 500 Turkish troops in the Bashiqa military camp on the outskirts of the Iraqi city of Mosul has been a source of tension between the two neighboring countries.
Ankara claimed that the December 2015 deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraqi Kurdish forces in the fight against Daesh terrorists. However, Baghdad denounced the move as a violation of its sovereignty.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Abadi noted that he had reminded the visiting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim of the withdrawal during a recent meeting.