Opinion: It is mistake to treat Turkish invasion to Iraq as a anti-terror operation

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“It is a mistake to treat Turkish actions as an exclusively anti-terror operation of regional significance,” Chair of the Russian Federation Council Committee for Foreign Affairs Mikhail Margelov said today commenting on reports on Turkey’s invasion into North Iraq, a REGNUM correspondent informs.

“Ankara, in the light of recent proposals of the US Senate to introduce the principles of federalism and wide autonomy in Iraq is trying to undermine from the start all hopes for independence of Kurds,” Margelov said. At the same time, the Russian senator found dubious the ways Turkey is using to settle the problem. “Striking the Kurdish rebels, it ricochets to the federal administration, which even more shakes the young unstable Iraqi ‘democracy’. And if the ‘democracy’ collapses, it can be replaced by a regime under which all that the PKK has done will look like child tricks,” Margelov said.

As the senator believes, the Turkish military operation against the Kurds in the territory of North Iraq “poses a threat to Iraq’s territorial integrity, undermines positions of the new government.” “It also splits proponents of the US activity in the region. The key ally of Washington in Iraq is Kurds. And the fact that the United States failed to keep Ankara back from intensive military activity against Kurds will inevitably cause their disappointment,” the MP believes. At the same time, the senator reminded that the confrontation between the Iraqi Kurds and the official Iraqi administration has lasted for not a decade. “Kurds can really become opposition to the government and Western allies that failed to halts Turk troops from the invasion. And this is fraught with a split of the country,” Margelov concluded.

As REGNUM reported earlier today, Yeni Safak newspaper (Turkey) reported today about the Turkish army invading North Iraq in pursuit of Kurd rebels. According to the newspaper, the troops entered the Iraqi territory by about 50 km. Earlier, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the military operation in North Iraq could be started at any time. Turkey has not commented yet on the military action in Iraq.