Turkey to hand over military base to Iraq
Turkey will hand over control of its base in Bashiqa in northern Iraq to Baghdad, the Turkish presidency announced on Wednesday in a joint statement with its neighbour. “In light of progress achieved by these security measures implemented by Iraq, Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan base to the Federal Government of Iraq in accordance with the agreed mechanism and…
Turkey has announced plans to transfer control of its Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq to the Iraqi government, following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The base, established by Turkey in December 2015, has been a source of tension between the two countries, with Baghdad accusing Ankara of violating Iraqi sovereignty.
The transfer, which will be carried out in accordance with an agreed mechanism and timeline, aims to promote both Iraqi sovereignty and Turkish security. Additionally, Turkey and Iraq agreed to fully restore state authority in Sinjar and eliminate the presence of illegal foreign armed elements. The US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, hailed the agreement, stating that it represents a significant step towards Iraqi sovereignty and Turkish security.
Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 2 other outlets
- Turkey to hand over military base to Iraq middleeasteye.net
- Turkey to hand over military base in northern Iraq to Baghdad france24.com
