Turkey's government refused the invitation to join the center set up in Bhdad to exchange intelligence on terrorists that pose a threat to the region, the Turkish president said in an interview on Saturday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told al-Arabiya television that his government refuses to�cooperate with�the intelligence center set up�in Baghdad by�the governments of�Iraq, Iran, Syria and Russia to�exchange information on�the Daesh terrorist group.
"Syria, Iran, Iraq and Russia have formed a quartet of�allies and asked Turkey to�join them, but�I told President Putin that I can't sit next to�a President (Assad) whose legitimacy raises doubts," Erdogan told the interviewer.


In September it emerged that Iraq, Iran, Syria and Russia had set up�the information center in�Baghdad to�collect and analyze intelligence on�Daesh and other militant Islamic groups in�the Middle East. The center is run by�military representatives from�each country, who will each head the center on�a three month rotational basis.

The Turkish president was also asked about�the incursion of�a 25 tank battalion and around�150 Turkish troops into�northern Iraq at�the beginning of�December. The Iraqi government demanded the immediate withdrawal of�the troops and complained to�the UN Security Council about�the military action, which it called a violation of�Iraq's sovereignty.

Erdogan replied that the Turkish forces are there at�the request of�the Iraqi government.
"When ISIS (Daesh) entered Iraq, the Iraqis asked us to�help, and we said we were ready to�do so. We asked them to�find a place to�establish our base, and they did. Everything began in�March last year, and in�March we were allocated the area of�Bashiqa," said the Turkish president, who began to�withdraw some of�the troops on�December 14.


On Thursday the Arab League condemned Turkey's deployment of�its armed forces in�northern Iraq.
"The council denounces the Turkish military incursion into�Iraq as�an aggression against�Iraqi sovereignty and a threat to�the Arab national security," stated the Arab League following�an emergency meeting of�the organization in�Cairo.


It demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of�all Turkish troops from�Iraqi territory.

By Sputnik