Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s accusations of escalating tensions between the Sunnis and Shiites, Reuters reports.
The scandal started on April 19, when Erdogan accused Maliki of provoking conflicts between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. In response, Maliki called Turkey a hostile state and condemned Erdogan for interfering Iraqi affairs. Experts say that tensions started on April 17, when Erdogan met Iraqi Vice President in exile Tariq Hashemi. Baghdad accuses him of training suicide bombers.
Iraqi authorities have been demanding non-interference since 2003. Iraq accused Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria of violating its sovereignty.
Iraq is the second largest trade partner of Turkey after Germany. The annual trade turnover between the two states is $12 billion, RBC reports.
