Ankara supports Iraqi sovereignty, will work with Baghdad against PKK: Turkish FM

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey will develop cooperation with Baghdad against the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said ahead of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s first visit to Ankara on Thursday. 

Cavusoglu and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein held a press conference on Wednesday, discussing security, economic and border issues. 

Kadhimi will visit Turkey, heading a high-level delegation on Thursday at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is his first visit to the country since taking office in May.

‘The Iraqi constitution doesn’t allow an organization to operate inside Iraq and attack other countries from Iraq. We are committed to the Iraqi constitution, any activity against our neighbours and Turkey is against Iraq’s principles,” Hussein said in the press conference. 

In a tweet following the press conference, Cavusoglu said Ankara “fully supports” Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity and will “develop cooperation against the PKK.”  

The PKK is a Kurdish armed group which has fought Ankara for decades for greater rights for the country’s Kurdish minority. It is viewed as a terrorist group by Turkey. 

Baghdad in July condemned Ankara for its ongoing military operation across the Kurdistan Region, describing it as "detrimental" to "regional peace” and accused Ankara of violating Iraqi sovereignty.

Turkey began fresh air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region and disputed territories in mid-June, with the stated aim of removing suspected PKK  targets from the area. The ground operation, Claw-Tiger, concluded in September.

Numerous civilians have been killed in the operations. 

The foreign ministers also discussed easing visa restrictions between the two countries. 

“We are making a roadmap for visa liberalization again,” Cavusoglu tweeted. 

Iraq suspended the issuing visas at border crossings for Turkish citizens in July, accusing the country of violating a 2009 deal that eased the visa process for citizens of both countries, according to a statement from the Iraqi foreign ministry.