MİT chief visits Iraq to discuss anti-terror cooperation

BAGHDAD

Turkish intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın has paid a visit to Baghdad and discussed anti-terror cooperation and other security concerns with senior Iraqi officials, including Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid.

According to the security sources, along with President Rashid, Kalın met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani and the representatives of Shia, Sunni and Turkmen groups during his visit in Iraq.

Sources informed that Kalın and his Iraqi counterparts discussed the fight against terror and the steps that can be taken together against the PKK’s presence on the Iraqi soils. Cooperation in the field security, the continuation of the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the concerns of the spread of this war were also on the agenda.

They also reviewed joint efforts for the promotion of the Development Road that would link Iraq and Türkiye to East and West through new transportation links, sources stated.

Kalın’s visit follows a high-level meeting between senior Turkish and Iraqi officials in December last year in the Turkish capital Ankara, during which all the aspects of security issues have been discussed.

The PKK, designated as a terror organization by the United States and the European Union, has been attacking Türkiye from northern Iraq, where it has its main headquarters and training facilities.

It recently killed 21 Turkish troops in three separate attacks in late December and early January. The Turkish army retaliated in kind and eliminated hundreds of PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and Syria.

Türkiye continues its military offensive against the PKK hideouts in northern Iraq in line with article 51 of the U.N. Charter. It launched the Claw-Lock Operation in northern Iraq in 2019 as part of its strategy to wipe out terrorist threats at its source.

Türkiye is also concerned about the growing influence of the PKK in northern Iraq, especially in Sulaymaniyah, under the control of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK). The PKK is also active in Sinjar province, on the border of Iraq and Syria.

Ankara offers cooperation with Baghdad in eliminating the terrorist presence from the Iraqi territories. If Iraq says it has no capacity to do so, Ankara says it is ready to deal with the terrorists alone.

A statement by the Iraqi presidency on the visit underlined that Kalın expressed that Ankara attaches importance to the security and stability of Iraq. It also recalled the need for improving cooperation in fighting against the terrorists, including the PKK.

[HH] Road map for ties

The two neighbors had agreed to develop ties in all fields, including security, through a six-article roadmap they issued following the talks in Ankara on Dec. 19, 2023. Türkiye and Iraq’s foreign and defense ministers as well as intelligence chiefs attended the talks.

“As a result of these meetings, the two sides agreed to further improve the relations in all fields and run them in a comprehensive and institutional manner. They have expressed their joint political will to this end,” a declaration disclosed after the meeting read.

The importance of Iraq’s political unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity has been expressed jointly by the two sides, which have also raised — in the framework of the bilateral security cooperation — the threats by the PKK to the region.