US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara for talks with the country’s leaders over the battle against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
The Pentagon chief’s arrival on Friday comes amid escalating tensions between Ankara and Baghdad over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq.
Ankara claims it is training Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters battling Daesh, which currently controls swathes of land in Iraq.
Baghdad has repeatedly asked Turkey to withdraw its forces from the Bashiqa camp, describing Turkey’s military presence in Iraq as an infringement of its sovereignty.
Carter said he would stress the need to respect Iraq’s sovereignty during his visit to Turkey, which has been locked in a dispute with Baghdad over who should participate in the campaign to retake Mosul from ISIL.
Carter was due to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, as well as…