Ankara has strongly rejected Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's warning that ethnic and sectarian conflict could engulf Turkey, labeling the statements issued by Maliki's office as delusional.

A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday harshly criticized Maliki's remarks on Turkey, in which he responded to the Turkish prime minister's Wednesday remarks on the looming danger of ethnic conflict in Iraq.



The ministry statement said a comparison of the situation in Iraq to the situation in Turkey is a stark departure from reality, slamming Maliki's remarks as delusional.



The statement described Erdoğan's remarks as “rightful concerns” for the sake of Iraqi people and said it strongly rejects what it called “groundless claims” by Maliki against Turkey.



Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday that Turkey is concerned about sectarian clashes in war-torn Iraq amidst escalating tensions between the central Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional administration.



“We always had concerns that, God forbid, this [conflict] may turn into a sectarian clash. Now our fears are slowly becoming real. This gives us reason to be concerned,” Erdoğan said during a press conference in Ankara before his departure for Pakistan for an official visit.



Referring to the recent clashes between the Iraqi army and the peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Erdoğan accused the central Iraqi government of trying to turn the conflict into a civil war.



“At the same time, this conflict might be a war for oil. Why? Because the central government wants to show its displeasure with the KRG exporting oil without the knowledge of the Iraqi government,” Erdoğan further said.





“The internal situation of Turkey is concerning and Turkey should be aware of this. Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan should focus on internal issues, particularly [Turkey's] specter of sectarian and ethnic conflict, and should seek ways for a solution,” Maliki said on the Prime Ministry's official website in response to Erdoğan.



Maliki added that he suggests that Erdoğan solve the problems of Turkey's minorities and Erdoğan should avoid plunging Turkey into the problems of regional countries.





Source: Today’s Zaman