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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived successful Iraq connected Monday for his first charismatic sojourn successful much than a decade arsenic Ankara seeks greater practice from Baghdad successful its conflict against a Kurdish militant group that has a foothold successful Iraq.
Other issues besides loom ample betwixt nan 2 countries, including h2o proviso and exports of lipid and state from bluish Iraq to Turkey, halted for much than a year.
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Erdogan, whose past sojourn to Baghdad was successful 2011, erstwhile he was premier minister, met pinch Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani arsenic they inked agreements connected h2o management, security, power and economical cooperation.
"I judge that my sojourn and nan agreements conscionable signed will represent a caller turning constituent successful Turkey-Iraq relations," Erdoğan said successful a associated news convention pinch al-Sudani.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, right, and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani shingle hands during a invited ceremonial successful Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Erdoğan was group to make his first charismatic sojourn to Iraq successful much than a decade connected Monday, April 22, 2024 arsenic his state seeks greater practice from Baghdad successful its conflict against a Kurdish militant group that has a foothold successful bluish Iraq. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
Al-Sudani said they discussed "bilateral information coordination, which will meet nan needs of some parties and face nan challenges posed by nan beingness of equipped elements that whitethorn cooperate pinch coercion and break nan information of nan 2 countries."
Erdoğan's sojourn "comes astatine a delicate and vulnerable time," al-Sudani added, citing Israel's warfare against nan Hamas militant group successful Gaza — a warfare that has had ripple effects crossed nan region.
Erdoğan said nan leaders had "consulted connected nan associated steps we tin return against nan PKK violent statement and its extensions, which target Turkey from Iraqi territory," referring to nan Kurdistan Workers’ Party, aliases PKK, a Kurdish separatist activity banned successful Turkey.
The PKK has maintained bases successful bluish Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region.
Erdoğan had antecedently announced a awesome cognition against nan PKK during nan summer, pinch nan purpose of "permanently" eradicating nan threat it poses. He did not specify what actions Turkish forces would return successful Iraq but Turkish forces person successful nan past carried retired galore crushed offensives against PKK successful bluish Iraq and Turkish jets often target suspected PKK sites.
Ankara now intends to create a 19-25 mile heavy information corridor on nan associated separator pinch Iraq, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told journalists past month.
The insurgency — nan PKK is fighting for an autonomous Kurdish authorities successful southeast Turkey — has claimed tens of thousands of lives since nan 1980s and Turkey and its Western friends person labelled PKK a violent organization.
Baghdad has agelong complained that Turkish actions successful Iraq against nan PKK break its sovereignty, but appears to beryllium acquiescing pinch Ankara’s operations.
In March, aft a gathering betwixt nan Iraqi and Turkish overseas ministers, Baghdad announced that nan Iraqi National Security Council had issued a prohibition connected nan PKK, though it stopped short of designating it arsenic a violent organization. Erdoğan connected Monday praised nan ban.
Al-Sudani told journalists during a sojourn to Washington past week that Iraq and Turkey person "true interests pinch 1 different and communal projects." He noted that nan PKK has agelong had a beingness successful bluish Iraq, "but we are not allowing immoderate equipped group to beryllium connected Iraqi territory and utilizing it arsenic a launchpad for attacks."
Ankara has based on that PKK's beingness successful Iraq threatens nan planned building of a awesome waste and acquisition route, nan Iraq Development Road, that would link nan larboard successful Basra, confederate Iraq, to Turkey and Europe done a web of obstruction lines and highways.
Baghdad whitethorn return a akin attack to nan PKK arsenic it has taken to Iranian Kurdish dissident groups based successful bluish Iraq.
The beingness of Iranian dissidents had go a constituent of hostility pinch Tehran, which periodically launches airstrikes connected their bases successful Iraq. Last summer, Iran and Iraq reached an statement to disarm nan groups and relocate their members from subject bases to displacement camps.
Energy issues and h2o authorities are besides cardinal successful Iraq-Turkey ties.
An lipid pipeline moving from nan semiautonomous Kurdish region to Turkey has been unopen down since March 2023, aft an arbitration tribunal ruling ordered Ankara to salary Iraq $1.5 cardinal for lipid exports that bypassed Iraq's cardinal authorities successful Baghdad. The sharing of lipid and state revenues has agelong been a contentious rumor betwixt Baghdad and Kurdish authorities successful Irbil.
In caller years, Iraqi officials person complained that dams built by Turkey are reducing Iraq’s h2o supply.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which supply astir of Iraq’s caller water, originate successful Turkey. Experts fearfulness that ambiance alteration is apt to exacerbate existing h2o shortages successful Iraq, pinch perchance devastating consequences.
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Mustafa Hassan, a Baghdad resident, said he hopes that Erdoğan’s sojourn "will thief to lick problems related to water, because Iraq is suffering from a h2o scarcity crisis, and this affects agriculture."
Erdoğan said Ankara was alert of nan h2o problems Iraq faces and that nan 2 countries person group up "a associated imperishable committee which is going to thief done practice ... taking our shared interests into consideration."
