Turkey to hand over military base to enhance Iraqi sovereignty

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting on the sideline of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Photo: PMO Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday that Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zelikan base to the Iraqi government. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the handover process will take place in accordance with an agreed-upon mechanism and timeline amid the progress Iraq has achieved through security measures. During their meeting on the sideline of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the two leaders agreed to deepen security cooperation in negotiations in which Iraqi and Turkish authorities discussed strategic relations. Additionally, al-Zaidi and Erdogan agreed to completely expand the Iraqi state’s authority in Sinjar and to eliminate the presence of banned foreign armed groups. Turkey established a military base in Bashiqa, near Mosul, in December 2015, initially deploying around 600 soldiers to train local forces to combat ISIS terrorist groups. The deployment of Turkish soldiers without formal consent from Iraq has been a longstanding point of contention, often regarded as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and a strain on the relationship between Ankara and Baghdad. As part of the agreement, Iraq agreed to restore state authority in Sinjar and remove or disarm foreign armed groups and militias that Turkey sees as security risks.