Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in Antalya on March 12, 2022. Photo: handout/Turkish presidency
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Saturday.
Taking place under the theme “Recording Diplomacy” on Friday and lasting for three days, Antalya Diplomacy Forum hosted heads of states, ministers, policy makers, diplomats, media and others.
President Barzani met with Erdogan on the second day of the forum but there were no immediate readouts from the offices of both leaders about the meeting.
The Kurdish leader also met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. According to a statement from the office of President Barzani, they discussed bilateral relations, latest developments in Ukraine and the region as a whole.
Cavusoglu thanked Barzani for attending the forum and “reiterated Turkey’s interest in relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” added the statement.
Turkey has mediated between Ukraine and Russia to end the war between both countries that began on February 24. Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers met in Antalya on Thursday but they failed to reach an agreement.
President Barzani thanked Turkey for the mediation, hoping that the conflict ends.
Falah Mustafa, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to President Barzani, is also accompanying the President.
“It is an important & timely gathering to address various challenges facing the world & #Diplomacy’s crucial role in seeking peaceful solutions,” he said in a tweet on Friday.
Taking place under the theme “Recording Diplomacy” on Friday and lasting for three days, Antalya Diplomacy Forum hosted heads of states, ministers, policy makers, diplomats, media and others.
President Barzani met with Erdogan on the second day of the forum but there were no immediate readouts from the offices of both leaders about the meeting.
The Kurdish leader also met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. According to a statement from the office of President Barzani, they discussed bilateral relations, latest developments in Ukraine and the region as a whole.
Cavusoglu thanked Barzani for attending the forum and “reiterated Turkey’s interest in relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” added the statement.
Turkey has mediated between Ukraine and Russia to end the war between both countries that began on February 24. Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers met in Antalya on Thursday but they failed to reach an agreement.
President Barzani thanked Turkey for the mediation, hoping that the conflict ends.
Falah Mustafa, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to President Barzani, is also accompanying the President.
“It is an important & timely gathering to address various challenges facing the world & #Diplomacy’s crucial role in seeking peaceful solutions,” he said in a tweet on Friday.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey on Saturday. #ADF2022
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) March 12, 2022
📸: Turkish presidency pic.twitter.com/6PmXyehY4d
Ankara and Erbil enjoy great economic relations, and most of the Kurdistan Region's crude oil is marketed through Turkey's pipelines.
President Barzani and Erdogan met in Ankara on February 2.
"The meeting focused on bilateral relations of Turkey with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, reaffirming the mutual willingness to further strengthen the important commercial and economic ties between the two sides," read a statement from Barzani’s office at the time.
Erdogan later told reporters that his country seeks a win-win deal to export natural gas from Iraq, adding that Barzani had promised him on the trip to facilitate talks.
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