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Erdogan calls US withdrawal from Iraq 'premature'

10 January 2012 - 1:18pm

The US has made a big mistake by withdrawing from Iraq, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, 1news.az reports.

Erdogan met his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg and reminded him that he had warned US president and vice-president about repercussions from such step.

The Turkish premier noted that the situation in Iraq remains tense and inter-religious conflicts may arise at any moments. Turkey is a neighboring state and cannot remain indifferent to the situation. He added that Iran is planned to be involved in the process.

Erdogan also discussed the situation in Syria. The “blood-thirsty regime” continues killing people, resulting in “2,000 people killed”, he says.

Concerning Iran, the Turkish prime minister will meet Chairman of Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Iraq and the US withdrawal.

Sunni politicians accuse Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki of taking power and law enforcers under own control and keeping opponents away from state administration. They also suspect the Iraqi prime minister of conspiracy with Iran.

According to statistics, Sunnis are a minority in Iraq (about 35% of the population). They had a much bigger role in the political life of the state during the rule of Saddam Hussein. With Hussein’s fall, the Shiites took power.

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