Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım called on Baghdad and Arbil to take action against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) presence in Sinjar, Iraq, saying Turkey will do what is needed if they don’t.
“The presence of the PKK in Sinjar is a national security threat for Turkey. Either Iraqi or peshmerga forces [Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (IKRG)] will expel the PKK, or Turkey will do what needs to be done,” said Yıldırım at Ankara Esenboğa Airport on Sunday, upon his return from a two-day visit to Iraq.
Yıldırım said he underlined the Turkish stance during his meetings in Iraq.
Prime Minister Yıldırım met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday. Flying from Baghdad to Arbil, Yıldırım also had talks with IKRG President Massoud Barzani on Sunday.
“The PKK’s expansion toward the West and finding shelter in Sinjar are not acceptable to us, either. This is an issue of security,” Yıldırım told reporters after the meeting with Barzani in Arbil.