ISTANBUL, Turkey - With much of Iraq now under the control of Islamic State (ISIS) militants, Turkey and Baghdad’s newly-formed government have agreed to work together in the fight against the jihadists by opening a “new page” in relations following years of soured ties.
Speaking alongside his Turkish counterpart Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during a visit to Turkey on Wednesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said his government was also in talks with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to settle a longstanding dispute over oil exports and that he hoped the differences could be put aside.
“With this visit we can say that a new page has been opened in our relations,” Cavusoglu told a joint news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara.
“There is now a more inclusive government (in Baghdad). The reason for the past problems was the previous government. We welcome a new and comprehensive start. We stand together with the Iraqi people and government in the struggle against ISIS and our support to Iraq on this subject will continue,” he said.
Relations between Ankara and former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was ousted earlier this year, had become strained mainly over Ankara’s strengthening ties with the Kurdistan government and its decision to buy oil directly from the semi-autonomous region.
Differences over the war in Syria, and Turkey’s past air raids on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq had also added to tensions. Ankara accused Maliki’s predominantly Shi’ite government of fanning sectarian and ethnic divisions in Iraq while Baghdad told Turkey to stop interfering in its domestic affairs. Both countries had summoned each others’ envoys in tit-for-tat moves.
But with faced with a continued onslaught by ISIS militants who have captured vast swaths of Iraq and neighbouring Syria, Jaafari said Iraq needed Turkey’s help.
“We are faced with a security situation and in this regard Turkey can help us, whether that is in the field of security or in other services. If there have been any problems in the past years, we need to start a new page and leave to one side whatever happened in the past,” said Jaafari through a Turkish interpreter.
Baghdad is also locked in a dispute with the Kurdistan government over its decision to export oil independently of the central government. The semi-autonomous region started exporting oil this year through an independent pipeline which connects to the main central pipeline on the Turkish frontier.
The Kurds, who rely heavily on the oil revenue, say it is their right to export it and attempts by Baghdad to halt the flow have largely failed. Baghdad says the sale goes against the federal constitution and that it owns the sole rights to the natural resource.
Jaafari repeated Baghdad’s stance on Wednesday but said the differences would be solved.
“Iraq’s petrol belongs to the central government. Yes, there have been problems in the past but we will solve these as per the constitution. We are discussing these issues and we will open a new page with our Kurdistani brothers,” Jaafari said.
