As tensions recently increased between Turkey and Iraq due to a statement by the Iraqi central government which said that Turkish military units stationed in Bashiqa camp near Mosul were "occupying forces" and "should be immediately withdrawn," footage from a 2014 press conference resurfaced, proving that Turkey and Iraq had originally agreed to collaborate in the fight against the Daish terrorist group.
Abadi told the press conference with then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that his government demanded "military, intelligence, arms and training support" from Turkey and help from "every neighboring country."
Iraqi PM Abadi, who called Turkish troops in Bashiqa "occupiers," demanded military help from Turkey against Daishhttps://t.co/ZdF1xvVYJ1 pic.twitter.com/f6GJn9I4Gh
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) October 11, 2016
The press conference was held on December 25, 2014, following Haider Al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq made an official visit to Turkey.
Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Iraqi parliament's decision to remove the Bashiqa camp where the Turkish military trains local Iraqi forces.
The Iraqi parliament, in a written statement, said that it did not accept Turkey's military presence in Bashiqa, which is connected to Mosul.
The Bashiqa camp, located about 30 kilometers northeast of Mosul, first came to the forefront in December last year during a routine military shipment.
Baghdad complained about the Dec. 4 deployment of troops to the site near Mosul, calling it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and insisting that Turkish forces be withdrawn.
Turkey said that the 150 soldiers and up to 25 tanks were stationed in Bashiqa to protect Turkish servicemen training Iraqi volunteers to fight Daish. The training mission had reportedly been in operation since March 2015 and was not assigned to combat duties.
The soldiers were sent to Bashiqa at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously said that al-Abadi had asked Turkey for help after Daish terrorists took control of Iraq's second-largest city Mosul, and that Turkey expressed its full readiness to help Iraq.
President Erdoğan had said that Turkey asked Iraq to allocate a suitable location for the deployment of Turkish soldiers to carry out training and that Iraq had chosen the camp site.
