Mosul troops crisis with Iraq emerged as Turkey rejected Russia-led pro-Assad alliance, Erdoğan says

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pointed out to the timing of crisis with Iraq over deployment of Turkish troops near Mosul's Bashiqa camp, which came after Turkey's refusal to a request from Russia to join a pro-Assad alliance which would also include regime forces along with Iran and Iraq.

Erdoğan's comments came in an interview with Saudi Arabian broadcaster Al-Arabiya.

The relations between Turkey and Iraq were good, Erdoğan said, and the two countries addressed the current developments in the region during the last visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to Turkey. He stressed that al-Abadi asked Turkey to help after Daesh took control of its second largest city Mosul, and that the Turkish side expressed its full readiness to help Iraq.

Erdoğan said that Turkey asked Iraq to allocate a suitable location to deploy Turkish soldiers, to carry out the functions of training, and that Iraq has chose the camp site in Bashiqa near Mosul. He also pointed out that Iraqi defense minister visited the camp at the time.

"It seems that developments in Syria have affected the situation. Syria, Iraq, Russia and Iran have formed a quadruple alliance, and Russia asked us to join that alliance, but I told President Putin that I cannot sit together with a president who does not have legitimacy" Erdoğan said.

Iran cannot hide anymore its ambition to have nuclear weapons, Erdoğan said, and the world does not support Iran's nuclear efforts. Speaking on bilateral relations between two countries, Erdoğan said that there are differences between Turkey and Iran, but he does not want these differences to affect the good neighborly relations. "We should not be enemies to each other based on sectarian attitudes" Erdoğan said. "Our reference must be Islam. There are efforts in the world to divide us" he added.

Erdoğan said that the Muslim world should join come together join its efforts. "Look at what is happening in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Libya. We must move beyond these problems. If we accomplish that, the Islamic world will be more powerful."

The full interview will be broadcasted on Sunday.