Davutoğlu: Troops in Mosul to train Peshmerga

Turkish troops are in Mosul's Bashiqa in routine training exercises as a part of the fight against Daesh, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said.

"The training camp is not a new camp." Routine rotation activities are carried out to protect the region, Davutoğlu added.

The Turkish PM said that the defense ministers of Iraq and Turkey would talk on the phone and then a meeting would be scheduled.

Davutoğlu's statement followed the arrival of the Turkish troops in Mosul's Bashiqa, located 12 kilometers northeast of the center, in routine training exercises.

Peshmerga forces in four provinces across northern Iraq have been trained against homemade explosives and in the use of heavy machine guns, mortars and artillery.

More than 2,500 Peshmerga have attended the ongoing trainings in the last two and a half years, according to the military.

"(Vladimir) Putin should empathize with us. How would they react if we intervened in East Ukraine with military action and pounded the Russian border?" Davutoğlu asked Putin, over the downing of an SU-24 Russian bomber in Turkish airspace.

"Everyone knows Turkey will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to ensure its security. We are powerful enough for that," Davutoğlu said.

Speaking on the condition of Turkmen in Bayır-Bucak region ,Davutoğlu said: "We will not remain silent after the massacre of Turkmens in the Bayır-Bucak region. We cannot watch the establishment of a country hostile to Turkey in Damascus without doing anything."

Davutoğlu also criticized Russian embargo plans, saying embargoes are not suitable for friendship.