Mr. President,
We would like to express, once again, our deepest condolences to the people and Government of Iraq.
Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims. We share their sorrow.
And we wish the injured a swift recovery.

Mr. President,
We would like to inform the Council that immediately after the attack, we were in touch with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
And in a few hours, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement.
We made it clear that, “Türkiye is ready to take all the steps to unveil the truth.”
In Ankara, in Baghdad, and in Erbil, our officials, at many different levels, have given the same messages.
They have rejected the allegations, and expressed their support to the Iraqi authorities in their investigations.
They also reminded that this is not the first time there is a smear campaign against my country.
On the 22nd of August, last year; two Iraqi tourists were killed around same region. Their car was attacked.
Immediately after the incident, there was a campaign to blame my country for what happened.
However, it was eventually revealed that PKK terrorist organization was responsible for the attack.

Mr. President,
The reaction of the Iraqi authorities to our calls for cooperation have varied, depending on their political affiliation.
Some were on the same page as us.
They wanted to find out the truth.
They believed in the importance of relations between the two countries.
We wish to thank those Iraqi authorities for their responsible approach to accountability.
Other Iraqi authorities, however, chose escalation.
Instead of diplomacy, and cooperation, they chose to give harmful messages through the media.
Provoking the Iraqi public.
Utilising disinformation to drive a wedge between the Turkish and Iraqi people.
Therefore, we believe that this meeting is an important opportunity to set the record straight - not only with the member states here in this chamber, but also with our brothers and sisters in Iraq.

Mr. President,
Türkiye has always maintained its strong support for Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability and prosperity.
Any claims to the contrary are untrue and ill-intended.
Let us make it very clear: the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq is breached by terrorist organisations, not by Türkiye.

Mr. President,
Having full control over a territory, monopoly of the use of force, raising a flag, and controlling taxation…
These are some of the functions of having and exercising sovereignty.
If these functions are not under the control of the State, how can we talk about the exercise of sovereignty?
As we speak, the so-called 'flags' of the PKK are raised in certain parts of northern Iraq. Not the flags of the federal government, or the KRG.
Who has control over check points in certain locations? The PKK terrorists. Not the federal government or the KRG.
Who illegitimately taxes the local people? The PKK terrorists. Not the federal government or the KRG.
These are but a few examples.

Mr. President,
The truth is: The Iraqi Government cannot exercise effective sovereignty over certain parts of its territory in the north.
We estimate that the PKK controls an area of at least ten thousand square kilometre in Iraq.
Nearly 800 villages have been forcefully evacuated by the PKK.
And all these spots have become safe-havens for the terrorists.
In Sinjar, the Iraqi government has no authority, whatsoever, throughout the entire city.
The Sinjar Agreement was signed in the presence of UNAMI.
Yet, it is still not being implemented: Yezidis are not allowed to return and the PKK presence in Sinjar is still tolerated.
Makhmur Camp is yet another safe haven for the PKK.
This place has lost its refugee camp status long ago.
The forces of the Iraqi federal government and the Peshmerga, and even the civilian Iraqi authorities are denied access to this camp.
It serves as a logistics hub and training ground for the terrorist organisation.
Only in July 2019, a Turkish diplomat posted in Erbil was assassinated there in cold blood by a regular visitor of Makhmur Camp. And despite our repeated requests, the perpetrators have not been extradited to Türkiye.

Mr. President,
Over the past forty years, the PKK has been responsible for the death of more than 40 thousand people in my country.
And it is worth reminding that the PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, the EU, the UK and many other countries.
Yet, here in this chamber, just a few minutes ago, the esteemed Foreign Minister of Iraq, HE Fuad Hussein could not even call the PKK what it is: a terrorist organization.
We reject and strongly condemn the representation of the PKK as an innocent group.
This is an affront to over 40 thousand people killed by the PKK and their families.
This is shameful.
How many more people has to die, until Iraqi officials can call the PKK a terrorist organization?
We would like all the members of the Council to note this point, as an example of the outrageous refusal of certain Iraqi politicians to condemn terrorism.

Mr. President,
There is also the allegation that the PKK has increased its presence in Iraqi territories since 2013.
This is a baseless claim which we utterly reject.
The PKK has been present in Iraq since the 1980s.
The reasons for PKK finding refuge in Iraq since the 1980s are well known to everyone, including Mr. Foreign Minister, himself.

Mr. President,
It is the Iraqi authorities’ obligation under both international law and the Article 7 of the Iraqi Constitution to stop the PKK from using the territory of Iraq.
Nevertheless, Iraq has so far proven to be either unable, or unwilling, to fight the terrorists.
If you cannot control your own territory,
If you are unwilling to fight against the terrorists,
And if you cannot stop terrorists from using your territory to kill the citizens of a neighboring country,
Then you are siding either directly or indirectly with the terrorists. It is that simple.
You cannot castigate your neighbour for using its right to self-defence.

Mr. President,
In the first six months of this year, 339 attacks were conducted by the PKK against my country.
Over the past five years there have been nearly 1500 attacks.
We cannot allow the territory along our border to become a base to stage attacks against us.
No member of this Council would allow it.
The Government of Iraq would not allow it.
Nor should they.
In the absence of Iraq’s ability and willingness to deal with the presence of terrorist organizations in its own territory, we are obliged to take appropriate measures.
Just like any esteemed member of the Council would do.
We will continue to exercise our inherent right of self-defense, as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the UN.
And we will act within the context of responsibility attributed by relevant Security Council resolutions to member states, in the fight against terrorism.
In doing so, we will continue to prioritize the protection of civilians, civilian infrastructure, historical and cultural property and the environment.

Mr. President,
Türkiye and Iraq will continue to be neighbours - and friends.
We do not want to see an Iraq fragmented over ethnic and sectarian lines.
We strongly support strengthening of the Iraqi institutions and national identity.
We hope for the formation of a representative and functioning Government, with an effective economic and reconstruction agenda.
We want Iraq to be ruled by politicians whose loyalty is to their own flag and people, not to personal interests, ambitions, sectarian identities or outside powers.
However, as the recent developments have demonstrated; there are, efforts by some circles to unite different political groups around an anti-Türkiye rhetoric.
This is a very dangerous game to play.
We want all our brothers and sisters in Iraq to know this:
We do not want our bilateral relations to suffer, as a result of domestic political calculations of certain groups in Iraq.

Mr. President,
Today, my country is even more committed to work together with the people of Iraq for greater peace and understanding.
Our unwavering support to our neighbours in their quest for stability and security will never fade.
Iraqi people know very well what it means to lose a loved one to terrorism. They fought valiantly against DEASH.
And the people of Iraq have always shown solidarity with us in our fight against the PKK.
We want to see the same solidarity and responsible behaviour from the Iraqi officials.
As much as we respect the security of Iraq, we expect the same respect from Iraqi authorities.
This must be a mutual effort.
We want Iraq to be ruled by responsible politicians who are ready to fight against terrorism in its all forms and manifestations.

Mr. President,
Once again, we would like to express our condolences to our brothers and sisters in Iraq.
We grieve with them for the senseless loss of civilian lives.

Thank you.