Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is determined to take part in a possible operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, despite calls from Iraq for Turkey to withdraw its troops.
In a speech today, Erdogan said Turkey would soon make a "proposal" to join the operation but had alternatives plans if Ankara's request is rejected. Erdogan said Turkey would implement a "plan B" and a "plan C," but did not elaborate.
Erdogan's comments come amid escalating tensions between Turkey and Iraq over the presence of Turkish troops who are training Iraqi forces to fight IS.
Iraq says the Turkish presence is a violation of its sovereignty. Turkey said Baghdad invited the Turkish soldiers and is ignoring calls for their withdrawal.
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