During the Turkish president’s stay in the Iraqi capital, more than 20 agreements will be signed
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Latif Rashid, in Baghdad where he is on an official visit.
In the previous period, political analysts in Turkey characterized the visit of President Erdogan, who last visited Baghdad 12 years ago, as historic. Information indicates that during the Turkish president’s stay in the Iraqi capital, more than 20 agreements will be signed.
The Turkish side attaches particular importance to two agreements: The first concerns the joint military response to the Kurdish rebels of the PKK, who use Northern Iraq as their base. Turkey and President Erdogan himself have announced that within the summer there will be a major operation by the Turkish army in Northern Iraq to clear the area of the PKK and in this direction Ankara is seeking the cooperation of Baghdad.
The second important issue that Turkey requests from Iraq is the signing of an agreement for the creation of the road axis planned by Ankara that will connect the Persian Gulf with Turkey, creating a transport axis alternative and competitive to the planned commercial maritime and railway axis which will start from India and through the Arabian Peninsula and Israel will end in the Mediterranean and from there to the ports of Greece and Italy.
For the water-scarce Iraq, the signing of an agreement on the supply of water by Turkey is of great importance.
The meeting was held behind closed doors and few details were released about the content of the talks. According to the Directorate of Communication of the Turkish presidency, the Kurdish language and the situation of Turkomans in Northern Iraq were among the main issues raised by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The statement noted: “During the meeting, President Erdogan stated that Turkey has expectations from Iraq regarding the fight against the PKK terrorist organization and that Iraq must be free from all forms of terrorism. During the meeting, President Erdogan stated that it is important for the stability of Iraq that the relations between Baghdad and the regional government of Northern Iraq get back on track and that the Turkomans have their rightful place. President Erdogan stated that the steps taken by Turkey and Iraq in the next period together will contribute to regional development and prosperity. President Erdogan also stated that efforts to stop Israeli oppression in Gaza continue and that Islamic countries should act united in this process.
The Turkish president was received at Baghdad airport by the Iraqi prime minister and other officials. For Erdogan’s arrival, strict security was taken in the Iraqi capital, where men from the Turkish security services also went.
Erdogan was accompanied by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Ali Erlikaya, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, other ministers, MIT intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and diplomat advisor to Akif Kagatai Kilic.
During his one-day visit, Erdogan will also meet with Prime Minister Mohammed Zia Al-Sudani, and after Baghdad, he will also visit Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish government in northern Iraq.
