...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
over recent comments by a Turkish official about sectarian conflict in Iraq.
"The Turkish ambassador gave assurances that Turkish officials' statements were in good faith and he will inform his government in Ankara of the Iraqi position," Iraq's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Although the Iraqi officials did not specify which Turkish official the statements belonged to, the complaint apparently stemmed from remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month. Erdogan had said a sectarian conflict in Iraq, if unleashed, could engulf the entire Mohammedan world.
Turkish foreign ministry responded by summoning Iraq's envoy to Ankara on Monday.
On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
criticized Turkey, saying it is playing a dangerous role in the region.
"Turkey is unfortunately playing a role which may lead to disaster and civil war in the region," Maliki told the US-based al-Hurra television.
Tensions in Iraq heightened after an arrest warrant was issued for Vice president Tariq al-Hashimi on charges of involvement in acts of terrorism against government officials.
The arrest warrant was issued on December 19 after Hashimi's bodyguards confessed that they had assassinated several Iraqi officials and army generals over the past years on his order.