Iraqi Shiite official in Ankara amid tension between Erdoğan, Maliki

Turkey’s NTV network reported on Wednesday that Iraqi Shiite official Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Iranian-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI) is in a surprise visit in Ankara to have talks with Turkish officials amid strained ties with Turkey, its largest trading partner. The Shiite politician will meet with Erdoğan, Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Thursday.

The officials visit came a day after Maliki again criticized Turkey's “interference” in Iraq's affairs, warning Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to change his tone in a weeks-long battle of words between him and his Turkish counterpart.

 “This [interference in Iraqi affairs] is not acceptable in the dealings between officials of different states and especially from heads of state,” Maliki's office said. “Mr. Erdoğan has to be more careful in handling the usual protocols in international relations.”

Maliki's statements came as a response to Erdoğan's warning on Tuesday afternoon, saying that Turkey would not remain silent if Maliki pursued a sectarian conflict in his country. Erdoğan, speaking during a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) meeting, stated: “The idea that ‘Turkey is interfering in our domestic affairs' is a very ugly and unfortunate one. … Mr. Maliki should know very well that if you initiate a period of clashes in Iraq based on sectarian strife, it is impossible for us to remain silent.”

When Iraq's strong Shiite bloc, led by Prime Minister al-Maliki, drew its sword against the Sunni bloc through the application of increased pressure on Sunni politicians and attempts to sideline them in Iraqi politics, Turkey reacted harshly to what it believed was the first sign of a sectarian war in Iraq. Erdoğan spoke earlier this month in Ankara of his concerns regarding the Iraqi polarization after the US pullout, suggesting that the Maliki government “needs to take control of the crisis and release its pressure on politicians belonging to other blocs.”

In a phone call earlier this month held between Erdoğan and Maliki, Erdoğan urged Maliki to take steps to reduce tension in Iraq. Erdoğan stated that transformation of mistrust into animosity toward a coalition partner will negatively affect democracy in Iraq, a veiled warning to the Iraqi prime minister that his latest arrest warrant for Tariq al-Hashimi is a blow to democracy in the war-torn country.

Erdoğan previously stated that Turkey was concerned about the possibility of “another fight among brothers in Iraq” and that Iraq was subject to provocations of parties from outside the country, pushing it to a brink of sectarian war. Turkish officials have kept stressing that Iraqi stability, with all its sectarian and ethnic blocs, is needed for peace in the entire region, and petty calculations are not a part of Turkey's foreign policy anywhere in the world.

“We … did not expect the way they [Turkey] would interfere in Iraq,” Maliki said in response to Erdoğan, during a Jan. 14 televised interview with the Al-Hurra TV station. “We recently noticed their surprise interventions with statements, as if Iraq is controlled or run by them,” he noted, adding that Turkey's latest statement was a form of interference in domestic Iraqi affairs. “And we absolutely do not allow that,” Maliki said.

Stating that it is out of the question for Turkey to side with a specific ethnic group in Iraq, Erdoğan said on Tuesday that Turkey “looks at the region through the lenses of peace.” “We expect the administration in Iraq to display a responsible stance that will stem sectarian clashes,” he said.

In reference to the US invasion of Iraq, Erdoğan slammed Maliki for “welcoming those who came to Iraq from a distance of tens and thousands of kilometers,” but accused Turkey, a neighbor, of interfering in domestic affairs. “What kind of understanding of running a country is that?” Erdoğan asked Maliki.