‘Withdraw your troops from Iraq,’ Russia tells Turkey after Ankara’s criticism

MOSCOW – Reuters

Russia demands that Turkey withdraw its troops from Iraq, the RIA news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on May 31. 

"This [keeping troops in Iraq] is an absolutely unacceptable position," it cited Lavrov as saying. 

"In principle, I believe that what the Turks are doing deserves far greater public attention on the part of our Western partners."   

The remarks came after Ankara called on the international community to act swiftly against what it called the "indefensible" crimes of the Russian and Syrian administration. 

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement earlier in the day that   heavy air strikes reported to have been carried out by Russian jets on a hospital and a mosque in Syria's rebel-held city of Idlib had killed more than 60 civilians and injured around 200 people.