The president, who traveled to the neighboring country in 2011 when he was prime minister, hopes to strengthen ties to fight against the PKK
April 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will begin an official visit to Iraq this Monday, the first of its kind in twelve years, which will also include a trip to the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, Erbil, to try to strengthen ties. between both countries.
Erdogan will thus travel to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where he will hold a meeting with his counterpart, Abdul Latif Rashid, and the Prime Minister of Iraq, Muhamad Shia al Sudani, with the focus on security, energy and trade issues, according to picked up by the Turkish newspaper 'Hurriyet'.
Thus, it is expected that during the visit nearly 30 bilateral agreements will be signed in various fields, after which the president will travel to Erbil, at a time when Turkey and Iraq are trying to bring closer positions regarding the fight against terrorism. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
During his stay in Iraqi Kurdistan, Erdogan will hold a meeting with the president of the region, Nechirvan Barzani, and will meet with senior officials of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) – created in 1995 by several Turkmen parties – and with leaders of this community.
Iraqi authorities outlawed the PKK in March in the midst of a rapprochement with Turkey that includes efforts to strengthen security ties that materialized after an official visit to Baghdad by a high-level Turkish delegation.
The Turkish Army usually carries out military operations in this area against the PKK – where the group has numerous bases – since the ceasefire between the Government and the armed group was broken in July 2015.
Iraq has repeatedly condemned these bombings and the Turkish military presence in the area, given that it does not have bilateral coordination, which is why it has demanded that Ankara end these operations, while at the same time it has accused the PKK for its operations. and the use of its territory to attack Turkish forces.
