Russia welcomes the emerging normalization in ties between Ankara and Baghdad amid Turkey's Mosul troops deployment, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the opening of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in Abu Dhabi.
Relations between Turkey and Iraq deteriorated after Turkey dispatched its troops in Iraq in late 2015 on the pretext of helping Iraqi militia fight Daesh, without the Iraqi government's consent, Sputnik recalls.
In mid January, the Turkish side reportedly agreed to withdraw troops from Iraq, though, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said that Ankara and Baghdad would discuss the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the Bashiqa military camp after the Mosul liberation operation was completed.
