Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denounced Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as "weak" on Wednesday, further escalating tensions after Baghdad warned Ankara about provoking a confrontation through deploying tanks near Iraq.
Abadi's remarks were made on Tuesday after Turkey sent a 30-vehicle convoy including artillery to the south-eastern district of Silopi, with the Iraqi leader warning that any Turkish "invasion" would prompt a fierce response. The two countries traded barbs last month over Ankara's military presence in Iraq's north and its insistence on playing a role in the offensive to retake second city Mosul from Islamic State (IS) extremists. "If you have the strength, why did you surrender Mosul to terror organisations? "If you are so strong, why has the PKK occupied your lands for years?" Cavusoglu jeered, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party which is waging an insurgency inside Turkey and has bases in northern Iraq.
"You cannot even fight against a terror organisation, you are weak," he said in televised comments.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus on Wednesday suggested Ankara had sent in the convoy as a precautionary measure because of the "fires raging (there) and this neighbouring fire can spread to us".
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was ready to take on more responsibility in the region even as it was facing threats from the ongoing volatility along its borders. "Some people give us lessons, they say 'do not get so involved in Iraq'... well, what are we going to do?" he asked in a speech to the Organisation for Islamic Co-operation in Istanbul.
"It is us that has a 350-kilometre (220-mile) border with Iraq."
The future was far from clear in Mosul, Kirkuk, Tal Afar and Sinjar, he said. "What happens next is unknown," he added, saying Turkey was preparing to deal with any situation.
During the Mosul offensive, Kirkuk has been subject to diversionary attacks from IS while Tal Afar is a town near Mosul where Shia militias advanced at the weekend. Erdogan previously warned the militias not to attack Turkmen residents in Tal Afar.
Turkey also fears the district of Sinjar could become another base for the PKK which Erdogan has said he will not allow. Defence Minister Fikri Isik also said Turkey was ready for any developments in the region, and was continuing important work to prepare for this. Ankara claims its artillery hit IS positions in Iraq during the Mosul operation but Baghdad denies any Turkish involvement and has called for Turkish troops training fighters near Mosul to be withdrawn.
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