ALBAWABA - In a 3-day visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was hosted by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, paving the way for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's coming trip to the country.
Fidan held a number of meetings with Iraqi officials and discussed bilateral relations and strengthening ties between the two countries.
"Current issues regarding the enhancement of political, economic, and security cooperation between the two countries were discussed," wrote the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Al Sudani emphasized that security and stability are regarded as to priority for the Iraqi government and that no party or organization, under whatever name, will be allowed to disrupt security or use Iraqi territory to attack neighboring nations.
He also emphasized the importance of coordination between Turkey and Iraq on numerous regional challenges in order to implement collaborative policies that serve the interests of both nations.
Fidan's unwavering solidarity with Iraqi Turkmens
Foreign Minister Fidan also met with leaders of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) and important members of the Iraqi Turkmen community at Türkiye's Embassy in Baghdad.
Fidan stressed that Iraqi Turkmens are not a cause of insecurity, division, fragmentation, or terrorism in Iraq, saying, "We want to express that Türkiye is and will continue to be behind these efforts and initiatives".
"We will continue our relations with our Turkmen brothers in a way that serves the territorial integrity, political unity, and stability of Iraq as much as possible."
He added that the contributions of Turkmens to Iraqi politics and society are beyond all forms of appreciation.
Turkey wants Iraq to announce PKK as a "terrorist organization"
During a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Fidan told journalists that “Turkey cannot accept PKK challenging the sovereignty of Iraq,”. "Sinjar, Makhmour, Qandil, Sulaimaniyah, and many other Iraqi districts have been occupied by the PKK terror group" He added.
On Wednesday, Turkish intelligence stated that a PKK member had been "neutralized" in Sulaimaniyah after preparing for assassinations against Turkish security forces.
