Ankara, Baghdad mull to sign a framework agreement during Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has disclosed a joint work with his Iraqi counterparts for signing a comprehensive bilateral agreement which will pave the way for increasing cooperation in security and economy during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq in April.

Speaking to private broadcaster CNN Türk late on March 18, Fidan informed that the much-anticipated visit by Erdoğan to Iraq is planned to take place in late April. It will be Erdoğan’s first visit to Baghdad in the past 12 years.

“There is an ongoing mechanism for our relations. We want to further institutionalize it. Our president will pay a visit to Iraq in April. Until then, we want to realize certain agreements, not only on security but also on the economy, agriculture and water management,” Fidan said.

This framework agreement will cover all the mentioned areas, Fidan said, recalling that they are working to make it ready for the signature during Erdoğan’s visit to Baghdad.

Türkiye and Iraq have been in intense talks since December 2023 in order to act together against the threats posed by the PKK’s presence and activities in the northern Iraqi territories. A recent meeting between the foreign and defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of the two sides has resulted in defining the PKK as a banned organization in Iraq. Türkiye hopes Iraq will take another step and designate the PKK as a terror organization.

“It is important that they announced the PKK as a banned organization in Iraq,” the foreign minister said. “We are not talking about merely a security-focused relationship with Iraq but a relationship that includes economy and energy,” he said, recalling how the Iraqi government is attaching importance to the Development Road Project.

“When you want to engage in a relationship that focuses on economic development, it is clear that problems stemming from security deficiencies should be removed,” he stated.

 Fidan urges PUK in Suleymaniye

Although Ankara could maintain a good security dialogue with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad and the regional government in Arbil, the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK) in the Suleymaniye region is still in close cooperation with PKK, Fidan suggested.

“The close dialogue of the PUK leadership in Suleymaniye with PKK has now become a national security threat for us,” the minister said.

“What we want is that Suleymaniye cuts its ties with PKK,” Fidan underlined while stressing that some of the PKK positions in Suleymaniye have already been targeted by the Turkish security forces.

“Clearly, our pressure [on the PUK leadership] will continue,” the minister said, explaining that PKK is using Suleymaniye to transfer weapons and other equipment to Syria, where YPG is located.

“We will establish the future altogether with Arbil, Suleymaniye, Baghdad, Musul… There is no space for terror organizations such as PKK or DAESH,” the minister added.