Roundup: Turkey threatens to sanction Russia, says not to withdraw troops from Iraq

Turkey has considered possible measures against Russia and will impose sanctions if necessary, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday, but added that Ankara remains open to dialogue with Moscow.

"We are ready to have talks and exchange views with Russia. But we'll not let anyone dictate us," he told his parliamentary group meeting.

"Russia should understand that this is border of Turkey and Syria. Those across the border are our brothers and it's our duty to protect their rights, and also to protect our border," Davutoglu stated.

Ties between Ankara and Moscow have soured after Turkey shot down a Russia fighter jet on Nov. 24 claiming the Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace. Moscow, however, has vehemently denied and insisted the downed Su-24 fighter jet had stayed over Syria during its flight.

On Dec. 1, Russia's government approved a resolution listing detailed sanctions against Turkey in response to downing of Russian jet.

The resolution, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, bans from Jan. 1 imports of foodstuffs, including poultry meat, a variety of fresh, frozen and dried fruit and vegetables, as well as cloves and table salt.

The resolution suspends activities of the Russian-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation as well as all mutual trade and investments negotiations.

The resolution cuts the number of annual licenses for 2016 granted to Turkish cargo transporters by road to 2,000 with a prospect of canceling them altogether.

Meanwhile, according to the resolution, Turkish citizens without a labor contract or a civil contract signed before Dec. 31, 2015 won't be allowed to work on the territory of Russia from Jan. 1, 2016.

Bilateral agreement on visa-free travel is also suspended, together with charter flights between the two countries except those meant to repatriate Russian tourists from Turkey.

TENSIONS WITH IRAQ

While engaging with Russia in a war of words, Turkey has also been wrangling with Iraq over sending troops into the war-torn country with informing the central government in Baghdad.

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said Turkey sent additional forces to Bashiqa camp due to increasing clashes with the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul.

He also said that Turkish military has trained 2441 people for Mosul National Guards in Bashiqa camp of Northern Iraq, adding that the training mission has been in coordination with the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government and Iraqi authorities.

Ankara has halted the deployment of additional troops to northern Iraq for now but will not withdraw those already there, he said, hoping to calm the tensions.

Turkey deployed troops to Iraq since 2014 and trained 2038 Peshmerga forces of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government in Diyala region and the training mission in Bashiqa camps has been carried on since March 2015 is part of efforts to defeat Islamic State in Iraq, the spokesperson said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had a phone conversation with his Iraqi counterpart late Monday and reiterated Turkey's respect for Iraq's territorial integrity, Bilgic told reporters.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday that he wanted to visit Baghdad as soon as possible.

Turkey deployed more soldiers in the camp on Thursday, making total number of Turkish troops 600, saying that the move was made in a bid to protect the training mission from the Islamic State that control Mosul province.

Earlier, the Iraqi government demanded the withdrawal of Turkish troops deployed near the city of Mosul, saying the move was not approved by Baghdad.

"A battalion of tanks and artillery entered the Iraqi territory specifically, in Nineveh province under the pretext of training Iraqi groups without the request or authorization from the Iraqi federal authorities," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said in a statement posted on his website. Endit