Kurdistan Region President, Turkish minister discuss regional security

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -  Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Wednesday received Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler in Erbil, discussing bilateral relations, the security situation in the Region and Iraq, as well as regional developments.

“The two sides stressed the importance of Turkey's joint cooperation with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to maintain peace and stability in the region and to maintain border security,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.

“They also agreed on the need for comprehensive efforts to prevent the spread of the Middle East conflicts and their consequences.”

Turkish defense ministry stated on X that the two leaders “exchanged views on regional developments, particularly countering terrorism.”

In the meeting, which was attended by the Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Ali Riza Guney and chief of the Turkish General Staff, Metin Gurak, the two leaders reiterated the importance of improving the relations of Turkey with Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region based on “common interest and good neighborliness.”

Barzani and Guler also talked about “countering terrorism, the threat and danger of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Region, and several other topics of common interest.”

Guler arrived in Erbil on Tuesday evening and was received by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga Minister Shoresh Ismail and several Kurdish officials.

The Turkish defense minister met with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani later in the day. In the meeting, the two leaders “stressed the importance of continuing coordination and joint cooperation for the sake of security and stability in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the region,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

PM Barzani told Guler that “the Kurdistan Region will always be a factor of security and stability and will not allow it to become a threat to our neighbors.”

The minister flew in from Baghdad where met with Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. 

The Iraqi president told the minister that Ankara should engage in dialogue to resolve bilateral security issues rather than violate Baghdad’s sovereignty.

Sudani reiterated “Iraq’s rejection of any infringement of its sovereignty and any attempts to settle scores on its soil” in the meeting with Guler, adding that Iraqi territory must not be used to launch attacks on neighboring countries.

A high-level Iraqi delegation in December headed by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi visited Turkey where they met with a Turkish delegation consisting of Guler, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) Head Ibrahim Kalin.

According to a joint Iraqi-Turkish statement following the meeting, Baghdad and Ankara discussed security issues as well as water access.

In October, Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji told reporters in Sulaimani that Iraq sought to reach an understanding with Turkey to end military activities and attacks launched from its land by groups such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

Turkey regularly bombards suspected PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas through air and drone strikes. The strikes have resulted in civilian casualties, environmental damages, and over 500 villages being abandoned.

In late December, Turkey carried out retaliatory airstrikes on alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region and Syria after the group killed 12 Turkish soldiers in the Region’s mountains.

Earlier in October, Iraq’s top military spokesperson Yehia Rasool told Rudaw that an Iraq-Turkey bilateral security pact will soon be activated and will “achieve good results as they were achieved with neighboring Iran,” following an escalation in anti-PKK strikes in the Kurdistan Region by Turkey.