Iraqi PM hits back in war of words with Turkish president

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 11 following the latter's harsh criticism, needling the Turkish leader for resorting to FaceTime during the failed July 15 coup attempt.  

"To @RT_Erdogan: we are not your enemy and we will liberate our land through the determination of our men and not by video calls," al-Abadi's official Twitter account said Oct. 11 in response to Erdoğan's words.  

Erdoğan, during a speech in Istanbul, addressed al-Abadi earlier in the day, saying the Iraqi leader should "know his place" and adding that he was "not on my level." The row came following a war of words between the two sides over Ankara's deployment of troops in Iraq's northern Bashiqa region.

Erdoğan made an appeal via the video call application FaceTime to private broadcaster CNN Türk on the night of July 15, calling on citizens to resist an attempted coup to overthrow the government. The call was successful, as many rallied to take to the streets, resist against military vehicles and thwart the coup.

Al-Abadi's spokesman, Saad al-Hadithi, told AFP that Erdoğan, with his latest remarks, was "pouring oil on the fire," adding that Turkey's responses had made an issue of law and security into a "problem of a personal nature." 

"It seems that Turkey is not serious about solving the problem with Iraq," al-Hadithi said.

The presence of Turkish troops in Iraq has resulted in diplomatic tension between Iraq and Turkey, with the Iraqi parliament sending a diplomatic note to Turkey's ambassador on Oct. 4 that declared the troops' presence there to be illegal, after which Turkey summoned Iraq's ambassador in Ankara the following day.

Al-Abadi has repeatedly called on...