Ankara — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denounced Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as "weak" on Wednesday, escalating tensions after Baghdad warned Ankara about provoking a confrontation through deploying tanks near Iraq. Abadi’s remarks were made on Tuesday after Turkey sent a 30-vehicle convoy including artillery to the southeastern district of Silopi, with the Iraqi leader warning that any Turkish "invasion" would prompt a fierce response. The two countries traded barbs in October over Ankara’s military presence in Iraq’s north and its insistence on playing a role in the offensive to retake second city Mosul from Islamic State (IS) extremists. "If you have the strength, why did you surrender Mosul to terror organisations? If you are so strong, why has the PKK occupied your lands for years?" Cavusoglu jeered, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is waging an insurgency inside Turkey and has bases in northern Iraq. "You cannot even fight against ...
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