Warren said that Turkish forces are in Iraq on their “own mission.”
Tensions in Iraq's relations with Turkey escalated in December, when Turkish troops arrived at the Bashik camp in the northern Iraq province of Nineveh.
Baghdad and other nations have called on Ankara to withdraw its troops and respect Iraq's territorial sovereignty. On January 25, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated the claim that the Turkish troops' objective was to support Iraq in the campaign against the Daesh jihadist group.
Warren reaffirmed the United States' respect for Iraq's sovereignty.
Despite the general's claims, a joint statement issued by partners of the anti-Daesh coalition in mid-2014 lists the Republic of Turkey alongside 59 other countries. Last fall, Turkey agreed host US combat aircraft at the Incirlik Air Base in the anti-Daesh campaign.