Erdogan in Iraq to push for cooperation
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that he discussed with the Iraqi prime minister joint steps the two countries could take against PKK groups
BAGHDAD: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan began a rare visit to neighbouring Iraq on Monday aiming to reset rocky bilateral ties with a raft of deals covering energy, trade and security cooperation.
Erdogan’s long-awaited visit is the first by a Turkish leader since 2011 and follows years of relations.
“President Erdogan stated that Turkiye had expectations from Iraq in the battle with the PKK organisation, that Iraq must eradicate all sorts of terror,” the Turkish presidency said in a statement after talks between Erdogan and Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid.
Rashid — the most senior Kurdish official in Iraq — said Baghdad backed joint work to fight terrorism and was against its territory being used to attack any neighbours, the Iraqi presidency said.
Turkiye plans a new swoop on the groups this spring and has sought Iraqi cooperation, in the form of a joint operations room, as well as recognition by Baghdad of the PKK threat.
Cooperation on big economic projects were also on the table.
Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani oversaw the signing of a four-way memorandum of understanding between Turkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates for joint cooperation on Iraq’s $17 billion Development Road project, with Qatari and Emirati ministers in attendance.
Launched last year, the 1,200km road and rail project aims to turn Iraq into a transit hub, connecting Asia and Europe with a link between Iraq’s Grand Faw Port in the oil-rich south and Turkiye in the north.
Baghdad is also seeking a deal to secure a larger share of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, both of which originate in Turkiye and are the main source of freshwater in droughtstricken Iraq. Rashid told Erdogan that Iraq was entitled to its “fair share” of that water, the Iraqi presidency said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that he discussed with the Iraqi prime minister joint steps the two countries could take against PKK groups, welcoming Iraq’s designation of them as a banned group.
In a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani in Baghdad, Erdogan said he had shared his strong belief that the PKK’S presence in Iraqi territory would end as soon as possible. Iraqi and Turkish officials said more than 20 memorandums of understanding would be signed during Erdogan’s one-day visit.
After meetings in Baghdad, Erdogan was set to travel to Erbil, the provincial capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, for talks with Iraqi Kurdish officials.