ISTANBUL,— Preserving the security of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region is among Turkey’s policies in Iraq, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, adding that Turkish forces would support the fight to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS) but would not engage in combat.

“If Erbil fell (to ISIS) this would be a problem for us in terms of national security. Places close to the border must not be under the threat of terror,” the Hurriyet daily quoted him as saying on the plane en route to the United States on Thursday.

He added that Turkey would play a supportive role in the battle for Mosul, which has been occupied by ISIS since June and whose liberation is expected to involve the Iraqi army, Peshmerga troops from the Kurdistan Region and support from coalition forces.

“We would support Mosul, but we will not engage in direct combat,” Hurriyet quoted Davutoglu as saying. “We will only respond if there is a direct attack on Turkey. We possess both the potential and the might for that,” he told reporters.

No date has been officially announced for the Mosul campaign. On Wednesday, the United States said that the disclosure of the timing for the campaign by a US military official who said the fight would probably be in April or May was a mistake by Centcom.

The Turkish prime minister added, meanwhile, that Turkey would “back groups supported by the people” and considered Atheel al-Nujaif to be the legitimate elected governor of Mosul.

Davutoglu said that, besides preserving the security of the Kurdistan Region, Turkey has four other policies in Iraq. These are Iraq’s “sustainability” as a nation, the security of the country’s Turkmen minority and working to avert further Shiite-Sunni clashes.

Turkey has been internationally criticized for pursuing a nebulous policy against ISIS. The NATO country that is part of the large coalition arrayed against ISIS has been internationally criticized for allowing jihadists cross its borders into Syria permitting the smuggling of oil and goods by the extremists.

Although Davutoglu underscored the security of the Kurdistan Region as a top priority, Ankara refused help to the Kurds when ISIS forces came dangerously close to Erbil last August. The extremists were beaten back by US air strikes. That incident put a dent in the very close relations between Erbil and Ankara.

The prime minister also warned against the rise of Baghdad-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, saying these must not replace ISIS after the Sunni militants are beaten.

Commenting on relations with Syria, which became further strained after Turkish forces crossed the border to evacuate a historic tomb on Turkish-held territory in Syria, Davutoglu said Turkey was willing to take on the Syrian military.

He warned that Turkey would react “if the Syrian regime threaten us, even with only one bullet.”

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