ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Turkish foreign ministry on Wednesday issued a clarification of remarks made by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in a recent interview that drew condemnation from Baghdad, asserting that Ankara's support for Iraq's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" remains unchanged.

In a Monday interview with CNN Turk, Fidan said that the Yazidi town of Sinjar, as well as Makhmour and Qandil, will “witness changes in the near future,” noting that after a military operation in Syria targeting Rojava (northeast Syria), “the Iraqi phase” will follow. 

Qandil, a mountainous region in Sulaimani, serves as the headquarters of Turkey's longtime foe, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), while the Yazidi heartland of Sinjar still houses the PKK-affiliated Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), which played a salient role in protecting the religious minority during the Islamic State's reign of terror.

Baghdad condemned Fidan's remarks as "interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and a breach of diplomatic norms," asserting that "the issue of Sinjar and other Iraqi territories is a purely national matter."

In a Wednesday statement, the Turkish foreign ministry said that Fidan's remarks "intended to draw attention to the threat posed to Iraq's territorial integrity and security by the PKK" and "underscored our determination to ensure the complete eradication of the terrorist organization from Iraqi territory, as in Syria."

"On this occasion, we reiterate [Turkey's] support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our neighbor Iraq," the statement concluded.

The PKK, which fought a decades-long campaign against the Turkish state, announced that it would dissolve and pursue its aims via wholly political means following a historic call from the group's imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan in February 2025.

However, Turkey offered strong backing to a recent Syrian military offensive in Rojava against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whom they deem to be inextricably linked with the PKK, hailing the reaching of a ceasefire and integration agreement that extended Damascus' control over the region as a victory for Syrian territorial unity.

Iraq has repeatedly condemned Turkey for conducting military operations targeting the PKK, which agreed to dissolve in 2025, on Iraqi soil, with Ankara having played a key role in encouraging Baghdad to proscribe the group as a banned organization in 2024.

The Turkish ambassador sought to play down Fidan's recent comments, insisting that they were “inaccurately understood due to an incorrect translation” and claiming that the minister had merely referred to the PKK members present in Iraq.

Iraq's foreign ministry earlier on Wednesday summoned Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Anil Bora over Fidan's comments, with Bora insisting that the top diplomat's words were "inaccurately understood due to an incorrect translation," claiming that the minister had referred to the PKK members present in Iraq and were not related to Iraq’s internal affairs or residents.