While the specifics of the visit remain undisclosed, Iraqi foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf and the Turkish foreign ministry said that the Hussein and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan will discuss bilateral relations between Baghdad and Ankara, as well as current regional issues. Hussein is accompanied by Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi.
Sahaf said that both Hussein and Fidan will “discuss ways to develop and enhance bilateral relations between Baghdad and Ankara, as well as the prospects for cooperation between the two countries, especially in strengthening security and intelligence cooperation.”
Both foreign ministers are set to hold a joint press conference later in the day.
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.
Araji noted that Turkey is a “big neighbor” of Iraq and labeled the PKK issue as an “important and sensitive file.”
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 of anti-PKK strikes in the Kurdistan Region by Turkey.
In April, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said that armed groups such as the PKK abused the security gap after the 2003 Iraqi invasion to set up bases and launch attacks on neighboring attacks from Iraqi territory.
Fidan visited Iraq in August and met with top Iraqi officials including Sudani, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, as well as Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
