Kılıçdaroğlu says may visit Kirkuk, Arbil

ISTANBUL – Anatolia News Agency

AA Photo

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said he is planning to go to Baghdad by plane but make the return trip to Turkey by car, revealing plans to visit Kirkuk, Arbil and meet with Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani if conditions allow.

Conditions were not previously suitable for a visit, Kılıçdaroğlu said, adding that the invitation from Iraq was not new.

“A new invitation came and I accepted. I am planning to go to Baghdad on a plane and return to Turkey by highway. I’d like to visit Kirkuk and Arbil and meet with Barzani if the conditions are ok,” Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters yesterday.

Responding to a question on whether he will comment on the denial of Turkish Energy minister Taner Yıldız’s flight to Arbil during his visit in Baghdad, Kılıçdaroğlu said he does not know if this issue will come to the table, but that “we always defend our country’s interests everywhere.”

Kılıçdaroğlu said he did not feel comfortable when Yılmaz’s flight to the northern Iraqi city of Arbil was denied by Baghdad, adding he was surprised Yıldız did not feel the same.

“No Turkish minister’s visit was denied by neither Iraq, nor other countries throughout the Turkish Republic’s history. “I can’t stomach this situation Turkey is experiencing in its foreign policy. I can’t understand how the minister could stomach it,” said Kılıçdaroğlu.